“A Study on the Impact of Digital News Consumption on Youth Political Awareness in Jaipur City”

Abstract

This study will examine the impact of digital news consumption on political awareness among urban youth in Jaipur. Drawing on peer-reviewed literature and youth's digital news habits, it will examine how mobile news access, social media platforms, and algorithmic curation shape political knowledge, interest, and participation. Research suggests that Smartphone-based news consumption increases exposure to political information and may be associated with increased political engagement both offline and online, even when news consumption is diverse and trust in news sources is moderate. Furthermore, the spread of misinformation, recommendation-driven selective attention, and the dominance of sensationalist content undermine informed citizenship and can polarize youth. Considering the context of Jaipur, this study combines national and regional research to show that urban youth rely heavily on social media and mobile apps for news, which increases instant information and access, but also raises concerns about verification, depth of understanding, and civic engagement. This research will analyze whether digital news has a conditional positive effect on political awareness: when youth connect with diverse, credible sources and possess media literacy skills, digital consumption promotes awareness and engagement on issues; when exposure is limited, unverified, or filtered by algorithms, it risks promoting misinformation and superficial information. Policy and practice implications include strengthening media literacy education, promoting platform transparency, and encouraging local news outlets to create youth-centered, verifiable political content to promote informed civic engagement in Jaipur.