• New generation gap: young people avoid news more (44%) than those over 35 (35%). 

• Forty-four percent of those who use social networks as a news channel are disconnected from the news, compared to those who use TV (33%) or print media (36%).

Compared to other countries, Spain is slightly below average in terms of the percentage of individuals who avoid the news. In the DNR countries as a whole, 39% of respondents report avoiding news on a regular basis, two percentage points more than Spaniards (37%). This distance increases with respect to the surrounding countries, which register a higher news avoidance (41%). 

This positive status compared to other European countries contrasts, however, with the comparison with the previous year. Since 2023, news evasion reported by Spaniards has increased by eight percentage points, from 29% to 37%.

 
The increase in news evasion between 2023 and 2024 has had an effect on the behavior of women and men with respect to this phenomenon. Unlike 2023, in 2024 it is possible to establish statistically significant differences based on gender. News avoidance is higher among women (40%) than it is among men (34%), a trend that is maintained in all age groups except for respondents between 18 and 24 years old, where there is a tie at 43%.
Likewise, there is a disparity between age groups. Forty-four percent of Spaniards under 35 years of age report avoiding the news assiduously, compared to 35% of those over 35 who say they do so. This trend reflects a change with respect to previous years, where this disparity was not observed. The Education does not seem to have a significant influence on the tendency to avoid the news and there are hardly any relevant differences between groups.

The greatest difference between the two groups in terms of information avoidance is found between respondents who say they are interested in current affairs and those who say the opposite. Among the former, information evasion does not exceed 33%. Among the latter, this value rises to 56%, 23 percentage points more, a difference that is statistically significant and is closely related to the relationship that these respondents establish with information.
In the same sense, higher values of avoidance are observed among those who use information sources that allow a greater Degree of interaction by users. For example, those who use traditional media, in which the receiver exercises a passive attitude, respondents show a lower propensity to avoid news compared to those who use social networks or media websites. Among the first group, the passive attitude of the receiver makes information avoidance values scarce. For example, only 33% of those who declare that they are mostly informed through television avoid the news, a value that rises only three percentage points (up to 36%) among those who generally use print media. On the other hand, in social networks (44%) this value is up to eleven percentage points higher.

News saturation leads to a rejection or avoidance of information among many citizens.

Information fatigue, also known as information overload, is a psychological and cognitive phenomenon characterized by feeling overwhelmed, exhausted or disconnected due to overexposure to a large amount of information. It manifests as a feeling of mental saturation, difficulty in processing and assimilating new data, as well as a decrease in attention span and concentration. It can be triggered by constant exhibition to news, social networks, emails or other sources of information, which can lead to a feeling of exhaustion that can develop into disinterest in the constant flow of data.

The relationship between news avoidance and information fatigue is a complex phenomenon that reveals important trends in citizens' behavior, especially in terms of their ideological positioning. In general terms, the values of information fatigue among all Spanish respondents (44%) are higher than those of news avoidance (37%). However, both phenomena prove to be closely related. The feeling of overexposure to news increases to 58% among those citizens who say they avoid news. In other words, more than half of Spaniards who avoid the news report feeling news fatigue, which suggests a close relationship between the two phenomena.

Ideological positioning also influences the information fatigue experienced by Spaniards. The highest values of information fatigue are registered precisely among those who are closer to the ideological center, respondents who also experience high levels of information avoidance.

It is interesting to note that, although the group that declares feeling greater information fatigue is that of those Spaniards who place themselves in the center-right (49%), this phenomenon is present with intensity in all ideological groups ranging from the left to the right, with special intensity in the center. 

The intensity of information fatigue moderates as the ideological location of respondents moves further away from the center. Among Spaniards located at the ideological extremes, there is a dynamic between this phenomenon and information avoidance that is relevant. Thus, despite the fact that extreme voters are the ones who avoid news the most, with a marked 46% among both extreme left and right-wing respondents, it is surprising that only 25% of extreme left-wing voters and 35% of extreme right-wing voters report feeling information fatigue. Both are very low values when compared to those registered by the more moderate groups and represent a statistically significant difference. This could respond to a behavior based on homophily and ingroup, according to which respondents from the extremes would avoid content that dissents or challenges their positions and would opt for content that confirms their positions. Thus, users would avoid information that challenges their positions and seek information that confirms their biases, something that reduces the stress they feel when exposed to information.

 
In general terms, the information fatigue recognized by Spanish users is among the ten highest worldwide, in line with that felt by respondents in neighboring countries such as Portugal and France. With a considerable 44% of those surveyed in Spain claiming to experience this fatigue, the data suggests a significant saturation of information that could be influencing citizens' attitudes towards news and its consumption.

 
Users who show a high interest in the news tend to admit a lower level of information fatigue, with a percentage of 38%. In contrast, those who show little interest in the news show a higher level of fatigue (58%), confirming the hypothesis put forward previously and which linked information avoidance and fatigue: Spaniards who feel more fatigue are also those for whom information is not relevant.

Another notable aspect is the marked difference between men and women in terms of information fatigue. This gap exceeds 10 percentage points, being especially B. While 38% of the men surveyed admit to suffering from this fatigue, this percentage rises significantly to 51% among women. This disparity is statistically significant and suggests differences in the way both genders perceive and manage information overload.

The high level of information fatigue experienced by Spaniards is also inversely related to the frequency with which users consult the news. This phenomenon seems to be more intense among those who access information less frequently (58%) than among those who consult the news more frequently (38%). 

News fatigue is higher among respondents who access information less frequently. Specifically, 67% of those who say they access the news at least once a month, although not several times a week, report experiencing this fatigue. The phenomenon is maintained at similar values among those who consult the news at least once a month (65%) and among those who almost never access information (60%). In contrast, this percentage decreases significantly among those who consume information more frequently. The average among those who consult information more frequently who say they feel news fatigue is 44%, sixteen percentage points less than those who space out the enquiry news more. Among those who consult the news multiple times a day (more than 6), a third say they do not feel news fatigue.

Interestingly, age does not seem to be an influential factor in the experience of news fatigue, at least according to the data collected in this research. This could indicate that other factors, such as level of interest and frequency of information consumption, may have a more significant impact on the perception of news fatigue and disinterest.