• Men (57%) show more interest than women (46%), and those over 65 (65%) more than those under 24 (34%). 

• Increased public interest in mental health and environmental issues.

Half of the respondents (52%) declare a high interest in news, a slight increase from the previous year. These data evidence a slowdown in the loss of interest in news, which had shown a decline since 2015. That year, 85% of users were very interested in news, a figure that decreased to 52% in 2023, while disinterest increased from 1% to 12% over the same time period.

The possibility that information detachment has bottomed out, at least for the moment, seems to be supported by a stabilization of data by age group, which remains at similar levels to last year.

With these data, the informative interest of Spaniards is above the average of the 47 countries analyzed in the global report of 2024: 46% of those surveyed are totally or very interested in current affairs, compared to 52% in our country. 

The percentage of Internet users who say they are little or not at all interested is also somewhat lower in Spain (12%) compared to average for all countries (14%). It should be noted, however, that the differences between countries in different socio-political contexts are notable. The levels of interest and disinterest in Spain are similar to those of other countries such as Portugal, Germany or Ireland -which have percentages of totally or very interested respondents of 51%, 55% and 53% respectively-, and are above those of countries such as France, the United Kingdom or Italy -36%, 38% and 40% respectively-. However, they are far from the levels seen in other countries such as Finland (65%), Kenya (73%) or Nigeria (77%).

Men and people over 65 years of age, the most interested

In Spain, interest in the news varies according to gender, age, socioeconomic level and political orientation. In 2024, as in the previous year, it is observed that interest in news is greater in the male sector of respondents and in older age groups.

Fifty-seven percent of the men surveyed say they are totally or very interested in the news, while in the case of women, this percentage drops to 46%. However, the percentage of those who show little or no interest in news shows a much smaller difference: 10% of men say so, compared to 13% of women. 

The gender disparity is particularly striking B among respondents under 35 years of age: 47% of men versus 28% of women say they are totally or very interested in the news. Likewise, 15% of men under 35 say they are little or not at all interested in the news, a percentage that rises to 24% in the case of women.

In general, interest increases as the age of the respondents increases. Thirty-four percent of adults under the age of 24 are totally or very interested in the news, compared to 22% who report little or no interest. In the 25-34 age group, the percentage of respondents who are totally or very interested rises to 40%, and those who are not or not at all interested stand at 18%. In the next age bracket, users between 35 and 44 years of age, these percentages stand at 48% and 11%. The next two age groups, between 45 and 54 years of age and between 55 and 64 years of age, show very similar values of high interest (55% in both cases) and lack of interest (10%). Those over 65 years of age are the respondents who show the greatest attachment to current affairs (65% say they are totally or very interested in the news and only 7% say they are little or not at all interested).

At final, the profile respondent most interested in the news is a man over 65 years of age, followed by a woman in the same age range. At the opposite extreme, the prototypical respondent with the least informational attachment is a woman under 25 years of age.

The higher the income and Education, the greater the interest in information.

As in previous years, in 2024 there is a positive relationship between the level of income and Education and interest in current affairs, as well as a positive link between news interest and other variables such as interest in politics or the frequency of enquiry of news.

Interest in news varies by income, with 62% of high-income respondents showing high interest, compared to 54% of income average and 44% of income leave. Disinterest also correlates inversely with income: only 9% of high income sample have little or no interest, compared to 14% of income leave. This year, the gap in news interest between the highest and lowest income groups widened to 18 percentage points, up from 12 points the previous year, though still less than the 27 points in 2022.

The level educational also presents a positive relationship with interest in current affairs. While 60% of respondents with a doctorate, Master's Degree or Degree university level say they are totally or very interested, the percentage leave drops to 58% and to 54% in the case of those with high or medium educational levels. Among those with a low level of programs of study it drops to 45%. However, the values of interest practically equalize when those who are totally or very interested are added to those who say they are slightly interested, giving a cumulative figure of 86% among those with a lower level of programs of study and 89% among those with a higher level of educational.

On the other hand, as in previous years, it is perceived that the more defined the political inclination of the public, the greater the interest in information. While nearly 60% of those on the right (59%) or left (55%) of the political spectrum say they are totally or very interested in current affairs, the percentage leave drops to 29% among those who do not know how to define themselves politically.
This is consistent with the data response to the question about interest in politics, which is positively related to interest in the news. More than half of the Internet users totally or very interested in news are also totally or very interested in politics (52%), while only 17% say they are not interested in political issues. This relationship, however, seems less marked than in 2023, when the percentage of Internet users totally or very interested in the news who indicated a total or great interest in politics amounted to 90%.

On the other hand, the relationship between Degree of interest in news and the frequency of access to news is almost unchanged from the previous year. As in 2023, in 2024 seven out of ten respondents totally or very interested in the news consult it several times a day (71%) and 95% consult it at least once a day. At the other extreme, only three out of ten Internet users not interested in the news (32%) access it at least once a day.

Interest in mental health is growing, local information remains a priority

Local news continues to be the favorite topic of Spanish Internet users. Almost six out of ten respondents (57%) said sample interested in local information (e.g. about my autonomous community or locality). However, the percentage has dropped compared to previous years: in 2022, when this question was last asked, it stood at 63%.

Other topics that appeal to respondents are international news (42%), mental health and wellness (41%) and environment and climate change (40%). Slightly less attractive are science and technology (39%), politics (37%) or lifestyle and culture (34%). Still lower, attracting the interest of around three out of ten internet users, are news about Education (32%), crime and safety staff (32%), fun news (32%), sports (31%) and social justice information (e.g. race/gender inequality, LGBTQ+ rights, etc.). The topics of least interest remain, as in 2022, business and economic information (24%), and entertainment and celebrity (22%).

If we look at the history, we can see some variations in the most and least attractive topics for those surveyed. As noted above, while interest in local and international news remains high, it is less attractive than in previous years: local news is down 6 percentage points and international news is down 4 percentage points compared to 2022. Along the same lines, almost all the topics asked about are somewhat less attractive than two years ago.

There is only one topic for which respondents show a greater interest in 2022: mental health and wellness, which increases by 6 percentage points and ranks as the third topic preferred by respondents, just one point behind international news, and boosted above all by an increase in female interest (plus 10 points). The percentage of users who say they are not interested in any of the proposed topics also rises (plus 3 points). The biggest drops were in local news (minus 6 points), culture and lifestyle (minus 6 points, although in 2022 these topics were asked about separately), social justice (minus 5 points), crime and safety staff (minus 5 points), international news (minus 4 points) and politics (minus 4 points).

If we look at the sociodemographic variables, we observe that interest in different topics varies according to gender, age and socioeconomic level and educational.

In terms of gender, both men (51%) and women (62%) are more interested in local news, although women are the ones who pay more attention to them (11 percentage points (pp) more than men). Men show greater interest in international news (45%, 6 pp more than women), sports (44%, +26 pp), science and technology (44%, +10 pp) and politics (42%, +9 pp). For women, the most interesting topics, after local news, are mental health and wellness (51%, +20 pp more than men), lifestyle and culture (41%, +15 pp), environment and climate change (41%, 3 pp more than men), international news (39%, slightly below them) and Education (38%, +12 pp).

The older you get, the more interest you have in local news

In reference letter according to age, data indicates that the older the age, the greater the interest in local information (seven out of ten over 55 years old say they are interesting, compared to less than four out of ten among those under 35), in news about environment and climate change (almost five out of ten over 55 years old compared to three out of ten under 35) and in sports news (36% of those over 55 years old are interested in them, compared to 22% of those under 35).

Older people are also more attracted than younger people to news about science and technology, although the gap is not as wide (40% vs. 34%), a topic that is of particular interest to men between 45 and 64 years of age (five out of ten). International, politics and news about crime and safety staff are also more attractive to older age groups, although it is striking that all three show a peak of interest among young people between 18 and 24 years of age. Social justice news appeals most to those under 24 (35%), although 31% of those over 55 also find it interesting.

Other topics show little difference between age groups: news about Economics and business appeals to around a quarter of respondents of all ages; news about Education appeals to around three out of ten, although the percentage is slightly higher among adults aged 35-54; news about mental health and wellness appeals to around four out of ten in all age groups, but is particularly important among women over 55 (almost six out of ten are interested). News about entertainment and celebrities, lifestyle and culture, and fun news appeal mainly to adults aged 35-44.

The higher the income and level educational, the greater the interest in hard news.

The analysis by income level and Education sample shows some similar trends. Those respondents with a higher income level and Education tend to show a greater interest inhard news such as international information, news about politics or Economics. In general, all respondents share a strong interest in local information and topics related to mental health and wellness. 

Specifically, if we look at the income level of the respondents, we observe that those users with higher incomes prefer local news (62%), international and political news (51%), and news related to science and technology (49%). They are least interested in news related to entertainment and celebrities (23%). 

Low-income respondents are most interested in local issues (53%), mental health and wellness (40%), environment and climate change (35%) and international news (33%). The news to which they pay the least attention are those related to business, Economics and finance (17%). This topic presents the biggest gap between groups by income level: compared to 17%, 38% of users with high incomes say it is interesting. In the case of Internet users with an income of average, 22% do so. At the other extreme, the topic with the smallest differences by income level is that of mental health and wellbeing, which attracts four out of ten respondents, regardless of income.

With regard to differences by level educational, the data also shows that those who report higher training tend to be more interested in hard news than those with lower levels of education. Thus, they are more interested in politics (17 points difference between the two groups), Economics (17 points more) and international information (15 points more). Secondly, both educational groups share a high interest in local news (57% approximately), news related to mental health and wellbeing issues and the environment (40%). 

News topics and level of interest in news

Finally, the relationship between Degree of interest in information and the selection of specific news topics has been investigated. The results show that those with a high interest in current affairs tend to favor topics such as international news, politics and Economics. In contrast, those who show a lower interest in news in general rarely focus on these hard topics. Instead, this group demonstrates a greater interest in local news, as well as topics related to wellness and mental health, followed closely by science and technology.

Satisfaction with the information offered

In addition to knowing which are the most important topics for the respondents, we have analyzed their perception of their Degree satisfaction with regard to the amount of information that the media offer on each of the topics. As can be seen in the following graph, the majority of respondents consider that the media offer abundant information on sports (72%), politics (65%), international news (62%) and local news and entertainment (61% in both categories). In contrast, only half consider that there is sufficient information on crime and safety, Education or social justice. 

It is important to note that there is no relationship between the Degree declared interest in each of these topics and the perception of supply available. Thus, local news is of high interest to 57% of those surveyed and 61% of those interested in this topic consider that the media offer enough news on this subject. On the other hand, 41% of Spaniards are interested in information on wellbeing and mental health, but only 53% think that they find a lot of news on this subject. 

Lastly, there are a number of topics that receive excessive attention in relation to the interest they arouse in citizens: sports matter to relatively few respondents (31%) and the majority (72%) consider that there is a lot of information on this topic. Similar figures can be found for entertainment news and celebrities: they interest 22% of respondents and 61% consider that the media offer enough news on this topic topic.