The media diet, news consumption habits and disinformation of Spanish university students

Abstract

Introduction. In the current media environment, news consumption has undergone radical changes in terms of possibilities and forms. This research article focuses on the analysis of news consumption in traditional media, on the Internet and in social media among social science students, and particularly among journalism students. Methods. Data were collected from a sample of 100 third-year and fourthyear students from five public universities located in cities with different socioeconomic profiles, to determine whether environment has an impact on students' behaviour and news consumption habits, and whether this influence is reflected on students' routines, interest and preferences. Results and conclusions. The press, radio and television continue losing audiences and most students now get the news from digital media platforms as they are already disconnected from traditional news media outlets. Technological developments have enabled new ways of dealing with space and managing time, which have an impact on the way people access information, on news content itself and on people's possibilities to learn about what happens around them.