‘I scroll past all the news I see on Facebook’: Australian young adults’ use of social media for filtering information during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic represented the first real experience of a global crisis for young Australian adults and saw them engage with the news at a heightened level. In this study, we report findings on how COVID-19 affected the way young adults consumed and avoided the news, the composition of their media diets, and factors that shape their news consumption strategies. The data was collected by conducting four focus groups with 15 Queensland-based participants aged 20–23 years. Distinct stages of news consumption were observed, with participants experiencing a saturation of COVID-19 information during the pandemic's early 2020 peak, and subsequent ‘burnout’ around pandemic-related news. Drawing on practice theory, these findings demonstrate the nuance and specificity of participants’ media use and preferences, and the factors that lead to their distinct ‘do-it-yourself’ strategies for filtering information on emergent social media platforms.