SOCIAL MEDIA, NEWS, AND YOUTHS: HOW YOUNG ADULTS CONSTRUCT AND ENGAGE NEWS CONTENT ON FACEBOOK

This research aims to investigate and critically assess how and to what extent young adults engage with ‘news’ on Facebook and what types of content they engage with. Eight young adults aged 22-30 years were interviewed along with the observation of their Facebook activity-logs over a 1-month period, from May 22nd to June 19th, during the 2017 UK general election and campaign period. The findings indicated overall that the participants used Facebook primarily as an intermediary for developing social context/understanding of news, as a means for commentary and personal expression; complementary to, prior and proceeding, their news engagement through additional media. The specifics of the participants’ Facebook engagement are outlined and discussed in detail.