Young people in the UK are watching less news on television. This is according to a regulatory body that oversees broadcasting in the UK. This is no surprise as young people are increasingly addicted to their smartphones. They prefer YouTube videos, social media and games to TV news programmes. A British newspaper reported that: "The youth of the nation are more likely to get their day's news about the world from social media or by reading graffiti in bus stations than seeing it on the telly, with the average 16-24-year-old watching just two minutes' worth of live TV news per day."
Research into the news-viewing habits of British people was called "News Consumption in the UK: 2019". It shows that young people are mainly using social media as their news source. Researchers wrote that, "UK adults are consuming news more actively via social media". People are making more posts on Facebook and Twitter about the news compared to last year. The regulatory body said presenting TV news stories in a less complicated way might attract more young people. Some people suggested this would be "dumbing down content for young audiences".