STS Speaker. Incidental News: The Consumption of Current Events Information among Young People

In this presentation I will share results of an ongoing, mixed methods study of how people ages 18-29 access information about current events. The study shows that the ideal-typical mode in which young people consume news on social media can be characterized with the notion of “incidental news.” Although incidental learning of news has long existed, it had been a secondary mode of information acquisition, not the predominant one. On the basis of these findings I will reflect on current dynamics at the nexus of media, technology and politics that have become central to contemporary culture.