70% of Maltese get most of their news from social media, Eurobarometer finds

Kyle Patrick Camilleri Friday, 17 November 2023, 13:43 Last update: about 7 months ago

A Flash Eurobarometer titled “Media & News Survey 2023” has revealed that Maltese citizens get most of their news through social media platforms; Malta tied Cyprus for having the highest share of citizens accessing news through this medium with 70%.

This Flash Eurobarometer was conducted between the week of 18 October 2023 and 24 October 2023 and found that, across the European Union, 37% of citizens consume their news through social media. This statistic has shot up by 11% since April/May 2022. Despite a 4% decrease, television remains as the overwhelming preferred medium for people to access news with 71% across the Union.

In contrast, the Maltese islands showed very different trends. Amongst Maltese, when asked what media they have used to access news in the previous seven days, 70% said that they rely on social media platforms while 49% were recorded for as using both television and online news platforms.

Furthermore, 21% of Maltese in this study sought out the radio (in comparison to an EU average of 37%) while only 11% of Maltese reportedly stayed informed with current affairs through written (printed) press. While only around one in every ten Maltese persons seek newspapers, this statistic nearly doubles across the European Union through an average of 21%.

This study split its respondents into four age categories: 15-24-year-olds, 25-39-year-olds, 40–54-year-olds, and 55+ year olds. For Maltese, social media platforms was the top response for all age categories barring the 55+ year olds class. A staggering 86% of Maltese youths versus an EU average of 59% rely on social media posts; these percentages were most recorded for amongst 15–24-year-olds.

Meanwhile, three of every four Maltese adults (25-54-year-olds) gave the same top response for their age brackets. Across these age groups, the top EU average responses were television (61% for 25-39-year-olds and 72% for 40-54-year-olds), signifying a generational difference in news consumption between adolescents and the rest of society.

In terms of the eldest age bracket (55+), television was the most-mentioned medium by percentages of 62% in Malta and 83% as an EU average.

Maltese were also found to be most likely to use Facebook, followed by WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram respectively.