News and information seeking among young Australian school leavers

This article investigates the news and information pathways of Australian school leavers. The study centres the voices of young Australians to examine where and how they gather news and political information, and how they articulate strategies of consumption. This draws on a mixed-method study of recent Australian school leavers. Data were collected in early 2022 through an online survey ( N = 416) and follow-up semi-structured interviews ( N = 21). Although young people accessed a range of platforms and journalistic and non-journalistic sources, they turned to selected sources for trusted information across these platforms (e.g. ABC News, The Guardian ). Findings revealed strategies of consumption aligned with the concepts of routine surveillance, incidental exposure and directed consumption. While the sophistication of strategies varied, this article highlights the intentionality and agency in how young people navigate this complex information landscape, and the importance of trust and convenience in driving these behaviours.