• 60% of those who perceive some contribution of the media to democracy actively participate in the news conversation, sharing, commenting, conversing or reading opinions about the news.

• 40% of those who believe that the media contribute to democratic understanding and participation have paid for online news content

Changes in social systems drive the analysis of the challenges faced by journalism in a context where commitment to democratic values may be threatened. Beyond the traditional factors that can weaken the links between the media and the citizenry, others such as evasion, information saturation and automated journalism are being implemented. These transformations generate debates on how audiences perceive the role of journalism in an era of constant technological change.

In the year 2025, we asked for the first time how much the media help democratic understanding and participation. For this purpose, three rating levels were established (not at all, somewhat or very much).

In general terms, 55% of the Spanish audience recognizes that the media contribute, to a certain extent, to the consolidation of democratic commitment, while only 20% consider that their role is outstanding in citizen understanding and participation. In contrast, 17% do not perceive this contribution to be significant.

An analysis of the distribution by sex and age shows that more than half of both men and women perceive that the media play a positive role in the defense of democracy. However, there are differences in the intensity of this assessment: 23% of men consider the media to be very useful in guaranteeing democracy, six percentage points higher than the percentage registered among women. On the other hand, women show higher levels of dissatisfaction: 18% believe that the media do not contribute at all to improving citizens' knowledge of public affairs, compared to 16% of men.

Regarding the distribution by age bracket, recognition of the work of the media is sustained in all age groups. For example, in the 35-44 age group, 58% say that the media contribute something, a percentage that decreases in the other groups.

Young people aged 18 to 24 show greater skepticism towards the democratic mission of the media. In this group, only 25% perceive that they actively favor the understanding of collective issues and citizen involvement. A similar percentage is observed among those who believe that the role of the media is null in the fulfillment of this goal (22%). On the other hand, more than 40% recognize a moderate contribution. The level of uncertainty or lack of knowledge about this contribution is also higher in this segment of the population (12%), exceeding that registered in the rest of the age groups.

Adults between 25 and 34 years of age are those who perceive that the media contribute the most to democratic discussion , with 26%. This percentage drops slightly in older age groups.

In general, the media are perceived as playing a fundamental role in consolidating democracy. However, the fact that this attribution is partial is evidence of a certain skepticism, especially among young people.

The greater the interest in news and politics, the higher the media's rating.

The perception of the democratic contribution of journalism varies according to the level of interest in news and politics. As can be seen in the graph, 80% of those who show an interest in news consider that the media contribute somewhat or a lot to democracy. This proportion is even higher among those with an interest in politics (84%).

Among those who express disinterest in information, 45% recognize that the media contribute to fostering democratic commitment, a figure that exceeds by six percentage points those who consider that their contribution to citizenship is null. If we focus on the connection with politics, the difference is more marked among those who express their disinterest: 60% give a positive evaluation to the work of the media in the public sphere, while 28% do not share this perception.

On the other hand, it is relevant to break down the data according to the level of trust in the media. In general terms, and regardless of the level of trust or interest in the information, the Spanish audience recognizes that news channels facilitate understanding and civic engagement.

Among citizens who combine high trust and high interest in the news, the majority of those who recognize a high (35%) or moderate (55%) contribution of the media, compared to 6% who consider it to be null. At the other extreme, within the group of those who neither trust nor are interested in information, only 8% value the democratic function of the media, compared to 27% who consider that they do not help democracy. However, more than half of the latter group (52%) recognize that the media have contributed in some way.

The majority of people who have leave trust in the news but maintain a high interest-those who recognize the importance of information-appreciate a high (27%) or moderate (54%) value of the media within the democratic system.

On the other hand, the analysis reveals that in practically all ideological positions the idea that the media are somewhat useful for democratic life predominates, with moderate positions tending towards a more stable and positive view, as opposed to a more ambivalent or critical stance of the extreme and the undefined.

The highest levels of recognition that the media are somewhat useful are found in the center (59%) and center-right (65%), which also show little rejection -7% and 6%, respectively, consider their usefulness to be null- and enthusiasm -19% believe they are useful in both cases-. At the ideological extremes, perceptions become more polarized. Thirty-eight percent of the extreme left consider the media to be very useful compared to 24% who believe that they are not useful at all. Similarly, on the extreme right 30% see a high usefulness, while 27% deny any democratic contribution. These data show that in the ideological poles, very positive evaluations coexist with significant levels of distrust.

Finally, among those who do not position themselves politically or do not know how to do so, the perception is more fragmented. This group presents one of the highest proportions of rejection (30%) compared to those who recognize a high (7%) or limited usefulness (43%).

Utility of the media in democracy by participation and payment in the news on the Internet.

In general, respondents who consider that the media contribute to achieving the expected democratic standards present high levels of participation in online news. Nearly 60% admit to sharing news through instant messaging (e.g. via WhatsApp, Facebook or Messenger); commenting on news on social networks or media websites; talking online with friends and work about a news item or through other channels (such as email, social networks or instant messaging). This sample an active and uniform participation by Spanish respondents.

Within the group that considers that the media fulfill their role as citizens, the most important form of participation is commenting on news: more than 30% of the participants comment on news content. In addition to this form of participation, there are the habits of sharing information (26%), reading comments (24%) and talking about this content, both in person and digitally (22%).

Finally, those who consider that the media do not play a clear role in promoting understanding and citizen participation show a less active attitude. In this sense, more people choose to read comments (13%) than to share or talk about informative topics. The activity of commenting has a minimal percentage participation, with a value of 7%.

Greater perception of the media as a promoter of democracy is associated with more frequent news consumption

Of those who consider the media to be useful for democracy, 60% enquiry the news once a day. This percentage coincides with those who consult information once a week and two to ten times a day.

46% of people who consider the engagement and contribution of news to be very important acknowledge accessing it more than ten times a day. This is significant and sample that the positive perception may be associated with greater information enquiry . As is evident, those who do not consider that the media contribute to social discussion show a leave frequency of news consumption: 35% acknowledge accessing the news at least once a month.

Evaluation of the democratic role of the media according to the source consulted

The perception of the democratic value of the media varies according to the news sources used by respondents. The majority of those who get their information from television (57%) or the press (56%) believe that these media contribute something to democratic understanding and participation, although only a minority (23% on TV and 29% in the press) consider them to be really useful. The proportion of those who believe that they contribute nothing is leave in these cases (14% in TV and 10% in the press), which reflects a relatively positive perception of the traditional media.

On the other hand, among those who do not use any news source , the perception is much more negative: 41% consider that the media contribute nothing, compared to only 4% who believe that they contribute a lot. There is also considerable skepticism among those who use social networks (15% not at all and 23% a lot). On the other hand, 41% of users who opt for chatbots as a source information value a high contribution. Only 18% believe that the media are not very useful. Audio sources (podcasts, radio) present a more balanced valuation, with 32% recognizing a high usefulness and 12% denying any contribution.