• Social networks are the main gateway entrance to digital news for 29% of respondents, especially for the youngest (38%). 

• The access routes linked to the journalistic brand have been significantly reduced in the last decade. 

Social networks are the access route most frequently mentioned by respondents (45%), followed by searching for a specific brand on search engine (39%) and searching for specific news through search engines (30%). This last form of access is the one that grew the most in the last year, eight percentage points more. As can be seen in the following graph, respondents used more all possible categories of access to information, from those categorized as "algorithms" (social networks, specific news searched on search engine and aggregators) to those involving a certain preference for a specific journalistic brand (specific media on search engine or direct access through the media's website or apps), including the two ways involving the use of search engines (either to search for a brand or to search for information on a specific subject). In global terms, the ways of access through algorithms (66%) prevail over the brand (54%) or search engines (53%). 

Main way to access digital news

When asked about the main way to access digital information, there is hardly any change from last year and social networks are still the main way declared (28%), followed by searching for a brand through a search engine (21%) and direct access to a brand through its website or app (15%). Overall, the main gateway to news is algorithm-based (48%), followed by brand (36%) and search engines (31%). 

The analysis by age sample shows some significant differences. In the case of the most widely used entrance gateway, its use becomes more diluted as the years go by. Thus, 38% of those under 35 access this channel compared to 22% of those over 55. This trend is also reflected in access through the search for a specific brand through a search engine, with greater use among younger groups than among older ones. In contrast, access via websites or apps, mobile alerts and especially email alerts tend to be used more by older age groups. 

Throughout the eleven editions of the Digital News Report Spain, it is possible to observe how access to digital news has evolved among Spaniards. As sample the following graph shows, the forms of access based on algorithms such as social networks or aggregators have been gaining relevance throughout the decade, while those forms more related to the journalistic brand such as direct access through websites or apps or through a search engine have been losing weight, although this year they show an upturn whose evolution will have to be observed.