• 37% of Spaniards - especially young people and women - continue to deliberately avoid the news.

• Ideology is determinant and draws an inverted U: the closer to the political extremes, the greater the evasion.

In an environment saturated with stimuli, with constant flows of headlines, alerts and skill narratives, not all citizens choose to be informed all the time. Information avoidance reference letter to the phenomenon whereby people voluntarily limit their exhibition to news, either by reducing their consumption, selecting only certain topics or systematically avoiding certain channels or times of the day. This attitude can be occasional, moderate or intense, and is usually motivated by emotional, cognitive or even ideological factors: from exhaustion due to an excess of bad news to distrust of the media or the desire to preserve staff welfare.

Far from being a marginal attitude, evasion has become an increasingly widespread internship globally. It is not just apathy or disinterest, but an adaptive - and sometimes critical - response to the way information circulates, is presented and perceived in the public sphere. Studying information evasion not only financial aid in understanding why certain audiences are disconnected, but also what conditions must change to reactivate the link between citizenship and information.

Information evasion in Spain and in the global context

data from the Digital News Report 2025 put global news avoidance at around 40%, considering those who report avoiding the news "often" or "sometimes". Spain is slightly below this figure, with 37% of frequent or occasional news avoiders, which places it in an intermediate position: the phenomenon is present and relevant, but it does not reach the levels of information disconnection of other countries with greater media polarization or news fatigue.

Beyond this general comparison, a detailed analysis of the responses within the Spanish sample reveals three different groups. The first and most popular would be made up of those who avoid the news occasionally (37%), in what would be an occasional disconnection for practical or emotional reasons. This would be followed by a second group made up of more regular or structural avoiders who declare that they deliberately avoid the news sometimes (26%) or often (10%). Finally, the third group includes those who claim never to avoid the news (21%).

This range of attitudes suggests that information evasion in Spain is not a monolithic phenomenon, but rather an internship of partial and selective disconnection that takes different forms depending on each person's profile .

Information avoidance by gender and age: differentiated profiles and generational gaps

Information avoidance is not evenly distributed among the population. Both gender and age, both individually and combined, reveal consistent patterns that allow us to identify profiles with greater or lesser propensity to avoid news. When analyzing the aggregate data by gender, it is observed that occasional news avoidance is the most common form of disconnection in both groups. Thirty-six percent of men and 37% of women report occasional news avoidance. This intermediate category suggests a flexible relationship with information, in which consumption is not constant, but neither is it completely interrupted, in line with the general observation mentioned above.

However, when looking at the responses indicating more frequent avoidance, more marked differences can be seen. Twenty-nine percent of women reported avoiding the news "sometimes," compared to 23% of men. This data places women as the group with the highest propensity to intermittent avoidance, something that may be due to an emotional overexposure to certain content, a lower identification with the media diary or the need to manage the psychological impact of certain news.

In contrast, men stand out in the "never" category, with 29% compared to 21% of women. This suggests that, in general terms, men present a greater resistance to disconnecting from the news, or else a different perception of the need to stay informed. The difference is particularly significant, with one in four men reporting that they never avoid the news, compared to just one in five women.

Young people, especially women, are more likely to avoid the news

The combined analysis of gender and age allows for a more precise definition of avoidance profiles. When grouping the responses of frequent ("often") and moderate ("sometimes") avoidance, it is observed that the group with the highest propensity to avoid news is women under 40 years of age, with 43% declaring that they avoid information on a regular basis. This is followed by men under 40 (41%) and, in second place, women over 40 (38%).

The group with the lowest level of information avoidance is that of men over 40 years of age, with only 31% reporting that they often or sometimes avoid the news. This profile coincides with the segment that stands out most in the "never" category, which reinforces the idea that age and gender, combined, configure very different patterns of relationship with information.

Disaggregating the data, young men (under 40 years of age) are the ones who are most concentrated in structural information avoidance: 16% say they avoid the news "often", 3.5 points behind young women (12%). At the other extreme, men over 40 have the lowest percentage in this category (9%). These data suggest that youth is associated with more radical forms of avoidance, while in older age groups disconnection tends to be expressed in a more ad hoc or controlled manner. For their part, women of all ages are concentrated in moderate forms of avoidance. The category "sometimes" reaches 31% among those under 40 and 28% among older women, which reinforces the idea that women, regardless of age, tend to adopt more moderate and constant forms of informational disconnection.

More years, less evasion

From the above it can be deduced that age presents a clear and constant correlation: as it increases, the propensity to avoid the news decreases. According to the data, the average age of those who never avoid the news is 51, while those who often do so have an average age of 45. This trend is maintained in the other categories: those who sometimes avoid news have an average age of 48, and those who occasionally avoid news have an average age of 48.9. Consequently, the older the age, the greater the probability of staying informed regularly, while youth is associated with greater disconnection, both occasional and structural.

Ideology and information evasion: polarization, disaffection, and political fatigue.

The relationship between political ideology and information evasion in Spain is neither linear nor homogeneous, but it does present a definite patron saint : the ideological extremes -both on the left and on the right- and the group of people who do not identify with or declare any political position sample higher levels of information evasion. On the other hand, the ideological segments located in the center of the spectrum tend to present lower and more stable levels of evasion. All of this suggests that disconnection with current affairs is intensified in contexts of both polarization and political indifference.

The shape of the ideological curve: the extremes evade more

In 2025, political ideology remains a core topic to explain news avoidance. More than 38% of people in the ideological extremes avoid news often or sometimes, compared to percentages ranging from 31% to 35% in the more moderate positions.

This difference draws a U-shaped curve and reflects how the probability of avoiding news increases the further people move away from the political center, regardless of whether they are left or right. The far left (42%) and far right (39%) groups have the highest levels of news avoidance, followed by left (38%) and right (32%). In contrast, the most moderate positions show the lowest levels: center-left (34%), center (36%) and center-right (32%). While the differences are not extreme, they are consistent enough to delineate a stable patron saint

Additionally, when comparing the average between ideological blocs, it can be seen that the left presents a slightly higher level of evasion (37%) compared to the right (34%). It is important to highlight a significant change with respect to the previous year: both the extreme left and the extreme right have decreased their levels of information evasion in 2025. While they continue to be the groups with the highest tendency to avoid news, this decrease suggests a possible reactivation of news interest among the extremes. This status could be attributed to conjunctural factors -such as the electoral context, polarizing debates or media scandals- that have boosted their at least partial re-engagement with current affairs.

Moderate groups: less evasion, greater stability

Even above the ideological extremes, the group that responds "Don't know" or does not fall on the left-right axis has the highest level of news avoidance in 2025. Forty-five percent of these respondents avoid news on a frequent or intermediate basis, higher than any other ideological category.

This group does not necessarily represent a "pure center" position, but rather a diverse set of people who stay away from political speech , either out of disinterest, disenchantment, distrust or a deliberately apolitical stance. The high rate of information avoidance suggests that their relationship with current affairs is fragile and distant: only 13% claim never to avoid the news.

If we analyze this segment by age, the general trend is confirmed: frequent avoidance among the "non-aligned" is especially high in middle age (40-59 years: 22%) and in those under 40 years (15%), while it drops significantly among those over 60 years (4%). This age profile reinforces the hypothesis that political and informational disconnection is more pronounced in stages of greater life uncertainty and social pressure, and that detachment tends to diminish with age.

The intersection between ideology and age reveals a result consistent with that observed in other sections of the report: information evasion is systematically higher among those under 40 years of age, even within each ideological bloc. For example, young people who declare themselves to be center-left or center-right have higher evasion fees than those over 60, suggesting that the phenomenon is not limited to the extremes. 

This points to a combination of factors: young people may experience greater fatigue due to the constant flow of information, less identification with prevailing political discourses, or simply a more intense skill between the consumption of news and other digital content.

The relationship between ideology and information avoidance in Spain configures a map with three critical profiles. Individuals with extreme ideologies tend to avoid news more frequently, possibly due to distrust of the media, perceived lack of representation or overexposure to exogroup narratives that challenge their beliefs. The "non-aligned," who show the greatest disconnect of all, and, finally, young people, especially those on the ideological extremes or who do not identify politically, are particularly vulnerable to news fatigue and withdrawal from news consumption.

In contrast, the moderate segments -both on the left and on the right- and those over 60 years of age show a more solid and stable relationship with current affairs, which suggests a greater rootedness in traditional news routines or a more sustained commitment to following current affairs.

Interest in politics and current affairs: a direct relationship with information avoidance.

The relationship between citizens' reported interest in politics or current affairs and their tendency to avoid news is direct and highly significant. The 2025 data confirm that as interest in either of these two areas declines, levels of frequent news avoidance clearly and consistently increase. This correlation is not new, but in this year's edition it takes on particular significance because of the magnitude of the differences observed. Specifically, interest in current affairs appears as a strong predictor of information avoidance, which can be interpreted as a change in the perceived relevance axis: what drives many citizens to connect or disconnect from the news is not so much institutional politics as the general perception of what is happening in the world.

Among individuals who report having a high interest in politics or current affairs, information avoidance is notably lower than in the rest of the population. For example, among those who express a high interest in politics, 19% avoid the news often and 11% do so sometimes. In the case of those who show a high interest in current affairs, these percentages decrease even more: only 12% avoid the news often, and 15% do so occasionally.

Intermediate interest: a transition zone

In the "quite interested" and "somewhat interested" categories, the picture becomes more complex. Although the levels of avoidance are lower than those observed in the uninterested group , there is a gradual transition towards a partial disconnection. For example, among those who are "quite interested" in current affairs, 5% avoid the news frequently and 25% do so occasionally. In the case of "some interest," the percentages increase to 8% and 34%, respectively. The percentage of those who never avoid the news decreases to 31% among those who are quite interested, and to a worrying 13% among those who are only somewhat interested at present.

These data confirm that disinterest is not a dichotomous phenomenon, but a progressive curve that translates into more sporadic, fragmented or selective exhibition . As interest decreases, moderate avoidance behaviors ("occasionally", "sometimes") increase, which are often not perceived as such by those who engage in them.

Total disinterest, massive evasion

The most significant jump occurs among those who say they have no interest in either politics or current affairs. In this group, frequent avoidance increases considerably. In the case of political interest, 25% of those who have no interest avoid the news often, and 29% do so sometimes. The latter figure contrasts sharply with the 54% of non-avoiders among those who are very interested.

While both interest in politics and interest in current affairs predict news avoidance, interest in current affairs does so more strongly and consistently. The contrast between the extremes is particularly telling: among those with no interest in current affairs, more than half avoid the news often (53%), while that figure drops to 25% among those with no interest in politics. Likewise, the percentages of those who never avoid the news are much lower in the case of disinterest in current affairs (8%) than in the case of political disinterest (10%).

The 2025 data reveal that both interest in politics and, especially, interest in general current affairs, act as barriers against information disconnection. Where there is interest, there is attention; where there is not, indifference, fatigue or withdrawal take over. The challenge for the media and the actors of the information ecosystem is not only to improve the quality of information, but also to make it relevant again.

Reasons to avoid the news: between distrust, saturation and emotional exhaustion

Information avoidance does not occur randomly or uniformly. People who decide to avoid, partially or frequently, contact with the news do so for reasons that respond to recognizable patterns, which are strongly repeated in the Spanish society of 2025. Knowing these reasons not only allows us to understand the causes of disconnection, but also to imagine better strategies for rebuilding the link between citizenship and current affairs.

Firstly, it highlights that the three most frequent reasons for avoiding the news in Spain have a strong emotional and perceptual component. Mistrust of the media, expressed in the statement that the news is "unreliable and unbiased", is the most cited reason, with 35% of mentions. Close behind are two reasons that point to a more subjective wear and tear: exhaustion in the face of the amount of news received daily (35%) and the negative impact it has on the state of mind (34%). These three reasons, almost equally frequent, outline a profile of news avoidance associated not so much with disinterest as with fatigue, saturation and disaffection. News, in this context, ceases to be a tool for understanding or participation and becomes a source discomfort or distrust.

Other relevant reasons point in the same direction. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed consider that there is excessive coverage of politics, which may reflect a perception of monotony. Overexposure to wars, crises and conflicts also contributes to this phenomenon, although with more moderate percentages. On the other hand, the least cited reasons - such as difficulty in following or understanding the news (8%) and lack of relevance to staff life (13%) - indicate that the problem does not lie, for most, in a cognitive barrier or an absolute disconnection from the world, but in how it is transmitted and what is emphasized.

The analysis by gender reveals significant differences that deepen the understanding of the phenomenon. Women are more likely to report that news negatively affects their mood (31% vs. 19% in men) and to report feeling exhausted by the amount of information available (29% vs. 21%). This profile suggests a more intensely emotional news experience, in which news consumption is linked to the psychological impact it generates, beyond the content itself. On the other hand, men tend to show a more critical approach in terms of content and form. Twenty-eight percent of them cite distrust or bias of the media as the main reason for avoiding news, compared to 24% of women. In addition, men are also more likely to consider that news is not relevant to their lives, with 11% versus 8% of women.

This divergence of motives suggests that, although both genders may avoid news, they do so from different angles: women, because of the emotional effects of news consumption; men, because of a more rational assessment of the value, usefulness or reliability of news.