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CHICAGO Young adults have a reputation for being connected to one another and disconnected from the news. But a survey has found that mobile devices and social networking are keeping them more engaged with the broader world than previously thought.

They want news, they say, though they dont always aggressively seek it out perhaps simply happening upon it on a friends online feed. And they want it daily.

The survey of Americans ages 18 to 34, sometimes called the millennial generation, found that two-thirds of respondents said they consume news online regularly, often on a social networking site. Of those, 40 per cent do so several times a day, according to the poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute.

Its been a slowly building trend in news consumption that experts say is trickling up to older generations and that young people say helps them stay current, even if they never read an actual newspaper or watch the evening news on TV.

Harder news from traditional sources, softer news from social networks

I dont think people would expect us to know what we know, says Erica Quinn, a 24-year-old college student in Gainesville, Florida, who participated in the survey. The findings were to be presented Monday in Nashville at the annual convention of the Newspaper Association of America.

Among other things, the respondents said their consumption of news and information on various devices was most often sparked by an interest in civic issues, for social reasons, including discussing a topic with friends, or because they just find it enjoyable.

The survey found that young adults generally get harder news from more traditional news sites and softer lifestyle news from social networks, Facebook being the overwhelming favourite.

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Thats generally how it works for Marilu Rodriguez, a 29-year-old from suburban Chicago, who participated in a focus group that accompanied the survey.

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Millennials consuming news from a variety of sources, survey shows