Interest in politics is key to democracy

Young adults in Switzerland spend just seven minutes a day reading about world news on their smartphones. However, this is an average figure: The majority of the 18- to 25-year-olds surveyed consume very little or no news at all, while only a small number spend longer than 30 minutes a day. It is notable that the level of education has virtually no bearing on news behaviour.

A common attempt to explain this so-called news avoidance suggests that young people would rather consume entertaining content on channels such as TikTok. Yet the data from the team led by Mark Eisenegger from the University of Zurich shows a more nuanced picture. There is hardly any difference in the media use between the groups with high, medium or low news consumption, but there is a difference in their attitudes. Those who read hardly any news are less interested in politics and the economy, are less likely to trust journalists and are more likely to be dissatisfied with democracy.

The most important findings

Interest in politics is the key to a functioning democracy. Those who are politically engaged are more likely to read more frequently and more diverse news, are more knowledgeable about politics and are more likely to participate in popular votes. General news consumption alone is not enough, however. The content is crucial. Those who consciously read political reporting – for example on a specific vote – demonstrably know more about it. Project lead Mark Eisenegger sums it up as follows:

“Our project shows that political interest is a key variable for democracy as it is positively related to political participation and political knowledge. It is also related to more and more diverse news consumption. Therefore, fostering political interest (e.g., in school) might be a solution for mitigating the risks of digital transformation for democracy.”

Relevance to policy and practice

The NRP 77 research project shows that the low relevance of journalism in the day-to-day media consumption of many young adults is less a question of the media available and more a consequence of political disengagement and dwindling trust. The researchers therefore speak of a ‘behavioural gap’ rather than a ‘technological gap’.

For policymakers, this means that targeted measures are needed to promote interest in politics – through appropriate citizenship education lessons, political education, and accessible news and information services. The task for media companies is to structure news content in a way that is relevant, easily understandable and engaging for young target audiences.

Three main messages

1. Positive correlation between news consumption and political participation, trust in political institutions and political knowledge:

The study confirms the key role of journalism to the political system. The researchers prove that people who read little or no news (news avoiders) have less trust in political institutions and are less likely to take part in popular votes than people who regularly consume news.

2. Interest in politics is a key variable

Young adults who are interested in politics know more about news and current affairs, read a wider variety of news and are more likely to take part in votes. In fact, interest in politics emerged as the central influencing factor – it also correlates with political knowledge and political participation. It is therefore important to step up citizenship education in schools – alongside initiatives to promote media literacy.

3. It's the content that counts!

It is not the quantity of news consumed that matters, but the content. Those who seek out political news on a specific topic – such as a vote – are also demonstrably more knowledgeable. Meanwhile, general news consumption does not automatically result in greater political knowledge.

To find out precisely what methodology the researchers used and other background information about the research project, visit the NRP 77 project website:

Additional research projects on the topic of “Digital Transformation” within the framework of the National Research Programme NRP 77 can be found here: