Net credibility: how the young increasingly trust the news online

Media Dependency theory postulates that the more one depends on a particular media for meeting their needs, the more important that media will be in a person's life. Digital media seems to be the new media for the present generation- everything they do from networking with friends to getting information, playing games and watching movies happens on this platform. The young hardly read the newspaper, have very little time for television news and listen to only music on radio. As future citizens of a democracy, the younger generation needs vital news and comment to take active part in the political, socialand cultural life of the country. An attempt is made to find the media consumption habits of the young with emphasis on the digital media. The fact that smartphones are proliferating among the young raises the question of trust and credibility of the new medium. What is the credibility perception of the digital media among the young and is it a vital consideration in news consumption? This study tries to address this by conducting a survey among the 16–25 year olds of Bangalore city.