Overall online access to news about the world is similar among African American, Hispanic, and white millennials but distinctions emerge when in comes to patterns of usage and topics, according to a new study.  

“Millennials across racial and ethnic groups follow different news topics. Of the 24 news and information topics the survey asked about, significant racial and ethnic differences emerged for nine,” according to How Millennials Use Technology to Get News: Differences by race and ethnicity.  

Conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the new study is a deeper examination of a larger 2014 report, “The Personal News Cycle focusing on the Millennial generation”. 

While Facebook and search engines dominate the way millennials in general get their news for a majority of topics, data from the new study reveal a significant difference between racial and ethnic groups in news engagement activities: 

• On Facebook: African Americans (48%) are more likely than whites (30%) and Hispanics (29%) to say they comment on news stories posted to Facebook. 
• YouTube and Instagram are more popular sources for getting news among Hispanic and African American millennials, however the use of other platforms - such as Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, and Tumblr - for news is similar across racial and ethnic groups.

When it comes to news and information topics, significant racial and ethnic differences emerged for the following news and information topics surveyed:

• African American millennials follow some lifestyle topics at higher rates than their peers. Overall, 35% of millennials follow news about celebrities or pop culture. However, 56% African Americans say they follow this type of news, nearly double the proportions of whites (29%) and Hispanics (28%). 
• Similarly, just 26% of millennials follow news about style, beauty, and fashion. Yet half of African Americans do so, making them almost twice as likely as Hispanics (26%) and nearly three times as likely as whites (18%).
• When it comes to regularly following news on general information topics, the proportion of white and African American millennials differs for three of the four topics: information related to their interest or hobbies (67% of whites vs. 46% of African Americans); information related to their job, industry, or profession (48% of whites vs. 34% of African Americans); and advice or how-to information (47% of whites vs. 32% of African Americans). There are no racial or ethnic differences when it comes to price comparisons or product research. 
• Among current events topics, whites and Hispanics are more likely than African Americans to say they follow news about science and technology (46% vs. 44% vs. 27%), the environment and natural disasters (39% vs. 36% vs. 16%), and foreign affairs (30% vs. 35% vs. 17%). 
• For whites and Hispanics, traffic and weather is the most commonly followed current events topic. For African Americans, however, the topic of crime and public safety is most commonly cited. These data were collected in January-February 2015, after months of press coverage of police-involved deaths of African American men in the United States.