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Social Media and News Consumption Among Canadian Millennials

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Social Media and News Consumption Among Canadian Millennials

Lehuidoux, Maxime (2018) Social Media and News Consumption Among Canadian Millennials. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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Abstract

The Internet and social media platforms have disrupted consumption, making it evolve from a solid to a liquid state, particularly among younger generations. This disruption deeply impacted news
consumption, with consumers moving away from traditional media towards digital media. Digital media turned news into a conversation, allowing consumers to easily read it, share it, and engage with it at any given time and place, based on their personal motives and interests. Through this study, I answer the following question: How has the liquid era and Facebook impacted Millennials’ consumer behaviour and engagement when it comes to news consumption? Using a qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews of fourteen participants, it is found that Canadian Millennials are strongly emotionally attached to their smartphones, computers and tablets as they are mediators and access bottlenecks to liquid consumption. It is also revealed that consumers fulfill their news-related needs through assessing worthwhileness, uses and gratification, convenience, as well as their interest in soft or hard news. Moreover, adding on Robinson et al’s (2017) typology of Facebook users, I identify a new type of Facebook user, the Self-Aware Apathetic user. The results of this study could benefit marketers, brand managers, and policy makers when developing their social media marketing strategy, allowing them to optimize their communication efforts and engage their audience more effectively.

Divisions:Concordia University > John Molson School of Business > Marketing
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:Lehuidoux, Maxime
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M. Sc.
Program:Marketing
Date:March 2018
Thesis Supervisor(s):Arsel, Zeynep
Keywords:social media, news consumption, self-aware apathetic user, facebook, worthwhileness, uses and gratification theory, millennials
ID Code:983655
Deposited By: MAXIME LE HUIDOUX
Deposited On:11 Jun 2018 04:02
Last Modified:11 Jun 2018 04:02

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