The report, Mediebarometern 2023: Tema digitala morgontidningsprenumeranter [Media Barometer 2023: Theme Digital Morning Newspaper Subscribers], shows that access to digital morning newspaper subscriptions is strongly linked to age, education, and income. These factors also influence which channels people turn to for news.
People with digital subscriptions tend to consume news from professional news media such as SVT, SR, and evening newspapers to a greater extent than others. Especially those 65–85 years old used traditional media for news regardless of whether they had access to a digital morning newspaper subscription or not.
Those who did not have access to digital morning newspapers instead used social media platforms to a greater extent for news. Particularly those 25–44 years old and those with lower incomes accessed news via social media like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube more frequently.
Economy, education, and age matter
In 2023, 43 per cent of the Swedish population 25–85 years old had access to a digital morning newspaper subscription. There were no gender differences in access, but the differences between younger and older people were remarkable. People with higher education and higher monthly income also had greater access, and access was somewhat higher in cities and metropolitan areas compared to rural areas.
In terms of age, the largest proportion of subscribers to digital morning newspapers and digital magazines is found in the oldest age group. Despite this, the percentage differences show that older people have lower access to other digital platforms such as social media and digital subscription services for, for example, podcasts and streaming services.
Media technology and digital content
The report indicates that high-income earners and people with higher education have greater access to digital subscriptions and various forms of media technology than low-income earners and people without higher education. This suggests that economic resources and education level play a role in the ability to access the content conveyed in the digital media landscape.
The results also show that digital morning newspaper subscriptions serve as an indicator of a broader willingness to pay for digital content. The subscriptions are also strongly linked to higher consumption of news from professional and established news media, especially public service.