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Gen Z, Social Media, and News

Implications for the Future of News Engagement, Journalism, the U.S., and Democracy

by Paula M. Poindexter (Author)
©2025 Textbook XX, 208 Pages

Summary

Gen Z, Social Media, and News: Implications for the Future of News Engagement, Journalism, the U.S., and Democracy is the third book in a trilogy that captures the intersection of generation change and news landscape transformation. This change began in the early 1980s with the birth of Millennials, continued with Gen Z’s arrival beginning in the late 1990s, then intersected with the news landscape’s transformation that accelerated in 2004 with Facebook’s emergence and Apple’s 2007 unveiling of the iPhone.
Born 1997 through 2012, Gen Z is the first generation to grow up when the news engagement socialization process that we took for granted is virtually non-existent. And because Gen Z engages with news on social media where disinformation is pushed, it’s unknown how informed Gen Z is and what that means for the future of news engagement, journalism, the U.S., and democracy. A national survey conducted with Gen Z, Millennials, and older generations addresses these issues and more.

Excerpt

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Halftitle Page
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • List of Figures
  • List of Tables
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Chapter 1. Who Is Gen Z and What Events and Issues Have Contributed to Defining this Generation?
  • Chapter 2. Social Media and News in the Lives of Gen Z
  • Chapter 3. How Social Media and Smartphones Disrupted the News Engagement Socialization Process and Redefined How Upcoming Generations Get News and Feel about Being Informed
  • Chapter 4. Gen Z Report Card on News, Journalism, Coverage of Their Generation
  • Chapter 5. The Gen Z Voter
  • Chapter 6. Barriers to a News Smart Gen Z
  • Chapter 7. The Future of Journalism, the United States, and Democracy Depend on an Informed Gen Z and a Nationwide Belief That Being Informed is Essential and a Responsibility
  • Appendix A. List of End-of-Chapter Questions and Reflections
  • Appendix B. How The National Gen Z, Social Media & News Engagement Survey was Conducted
  • Appendix C. Questionnaire for The National Gen Z, Social Media & News Engagement Survey
  • Appendix D. Celebrating 10 Years of News Engagement Day! Souvenir Program
  • Appendix E. Voting & Engaging with News about the 2022 Midterm Elections
  • Index

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Poindexter, Paula Maurie, author.

Title: Gen Z, social media, and news / Paula M. Poindexter.

Description: New York : Peter Lang, 2025. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2024059626 (print) | LCCN 2024059627 (ebook) | ISBN 9781636676340 (paperback) | ISBN 9781636676333 (hardback) | ISBN 9781636676357 (ebook) | ISBN 9781636676364 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: News audiences–United States–History–21st century. | Generation Z. | Journalism–United States–History–21st century. | Social media–United States–History.

Classification: LCC PN4888.N47 P64 2025 (print) | LCC PN4888.N47 (ebook) | DDC 071/.3–dc23/eng/20250106

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024059626

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024059627

DOI 10.3726/b22611

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.

The German National Library lists this publication in the German

National Bibliography; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

Cover design by Peter Lang Group AG, with Paula M. Poindexter.

ISBN 9781636676340 (paperback)

ISBN 9781636676333 (hardback)

ISBN 9781636676357 (ebook)

ISBN 9781636676364 (epub)

DOI 10.3726/b22611

© 2025 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne

Published by Peter Lang Publishing Inc., New York, USA

info@peterlang.comwww.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.

All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.

Any utilization outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.

This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.

This publication has been peer reviewed.

To News Engagement Day and My Gen Z Students

CONTENTS

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1Who Is Gen Z and What Events and Issues Have Contributed to Defining this Generation?

Chapter 2Social Media and News in the Lives of Gen Z

Chapter 3How Social Media and Smartphones Disrupted the News Engagement Socialization Process and Redefined How Upcoming Generations Get News and Feel about Being Informed

Chapter 4Gen Z Report Card on News, Journalism, Coverage of Their Generation

Chapter 5The Gen Z Voter

Chapter 6Barriers to a News Smart Gen Z

Chapter 7The Future of Journalism, the United States, and Democracy Depend on an Informed Gen Z and a Nationwide Belief That Being Informed is Essential and a Responsibility

Appendix A: List of End-of-Chapter Questions and Reflections

Appendix B: How The National Gen Z, Social Media & News Engagement Survey was Conducted

Appendix C: Questionnaire for The National Gen Z, Social Media & News Engagement Survey

Appendix D: Celebrating 10 Years of News Engagement Day! Souvenir Program

Appendix E: Voting & Engaging with News about the 2022 Midterm Elections

Index

FIGURES

Figure 3.1News Engagement Routines in Gen Z’s Own Words

Figure 4.1In Gen Z’s Own Words: Reasons for Giving a High Grade to News Media Coverage

Figure 4.2In Gen Z’s Own Words: Reasons for Giving a Low Grade to News Media Coverage

Figure 4.3In Gen Z’s Own Words: What Gen Z Thinks of News Coverage of Their Generation

Figure 5.1Why Gen Z Is Not Registered to Vote

Figure 5.2Most Important Issues Facing Gen Z

Figure 5.3Themes That Reflect Main Reasons Gen Z Will Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election

Figure 6.1Barriers to a News Smart Gen Z

Figure 7.1Select Constituent Groups that Have an Opportunity and Responsibility to Ensure Gen Z and Future Generations Are Informed, an Independent Press Thrives, and Democracy Is Protected

Figure 7.2Gen Z’s News Credibility Quick Check

Figure 7.3News Media Action Plan for Covering and Engaging Gen Z

Figure A.1Click a Topic and Get Answers to Your Questions About Registering and Voting

Figure A.2Candidates and Issues on the Ballot for the 2022 Midterms

TABLES

Table 2.1How the Demographic Portrait of Gen Z Compares with Millennials & Older Generations

Table 2.2Social Media Use by Generation: Gen Z, Millennials, and Older Generations

Table 2.3News Engagement by Generation: Gen Z, Millennials, and Older Generations

Table 2.4Where Gen Z, Millennials, and Older Generations Get News

Table 2.5Embracing Digital Platforms and Interpersonal Sources; Rejecting Legacy News Media: A Generational Comparison

Table 2.6News Categories Gen Z, Millennials, and Older Generations Pay Attention To

Table 2.7News Topics Gen Z, Millennials, and Older Generations Pay Attention To

Table 2.8News Topics Paid Attention to from the Prism of Gender

Table 3.1The Presence of News in the Homes of Gen Z, Millennials, and Older Generations While Growing Up

Details

Pages
XX, 208
Publication Year
2025
ISBN (PDF)
9781636676357
ISBN (ePUB)
9781636676364
ISBN (Softcover)
9781636676340
DOI
10.3726/b22611
Language
English
Publication date
2025 (July)
Keywords
Gen Z Millennials Journalism News News Engagement News Audience Gen Z Voter Social Media Disinformation News Engagement Day AEJMC, 2024 Presidential Election Democracy Kamala Harris Donald Trump Joe Biden
Published
New York, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, Oxford, 2025. XX, 208 pp., 13 b/w ill., 28 tables.

Author

  • Paula M. Poindexter (Author)

Paula M. Poindexter is a professor of journalism at University of Texas at Austin. In addition to publishing six books, she has been a news reporter, producer, and a Los Angeles Times executive. As the 2014 president of AEJMC, she founded News Engagement Day. Her Ph.D. degree is from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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Title: Gen Z, Social Media, and News