Scrolling through? Generational divides in media consumption and their impact on trust and polarization

The purpose of this article is to examine news consumption among different generations, with a focus on younger adults. Additionally, we investigate how social media news use and news minimalism influence political and media trust, as well as affective polarization during an election campaign. We conducted a longitudinal survey during the run-up to the Dutch general election in November 2023 (Wave 1: N = 2405; Wave 2: N = 1785). Results show that young adults are characterized not only by substantially higher social media use but also by comparatively high levels of trust and low levels of polarization. Interestingly, news minimalism is more widespread. Finally, we found that the effects of media repertoires on trust and polarization are limited and appear to be largely absent when examining changes over time.