Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
Despite most youths believing that the country's print and electronic media houses provide a correct view of current events in Bangladesh, they still depend on social media for updates on current affairs, primarily Facebook, according to a recent survey.
The survey, conducted by the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) and the findings unveiled on Monday, reveals the high dependency on social media for news among youths: 74% of in-person respondents and 84% of online participants get information on current events in Bangladesh from social media.
Altogether 3,238 youths from across the country participated in the survey.
The participants said both the mainstream media – print and electronic – and social media provide correct views, but their information dependency is increasing on social media.
According to the findings, 71% of in-person participants think social media provides accurate information, whereas 56.9% of online users believe the same.
On the other hand, 71.1% of in-person participants believe that print and electronic media platforms provide correct information, and 50.5% of online respondents agree.
In Bangladesh, most youths who use social media are on Facebook.
According to the survey, more than 70% of them use Facebook, followed by YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, LinkedIn and Twitter as the most popular platforms among youths.
Details
Md Abul Khayer Shajib, manager of research, monitoring and evaluation at the organization, presented the survey results at the BYLC office.
Of the 3,238 youths who participated in the survey, 1,575 did so in-person and 1,663 online, between October and November.
While the government defines youths as individuals aged 18-35, this study expanded the age range to 16-35 years to better capture the country's unique demographic and socio-economic context.
The survey covered various topics, including education, healthcare, livelihoods, climate change, justice, governance, peace and order, access to information, and future aspirations.
Although participants from every division contributed to the survey, responses from Dhaka division dominated both online and in-person categories.
BYLC's Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Department conducted the survey, with researchers Abul Khayer Shajib, Arafat Islam, Fazilatun Nesa and Jessia Margaret Gomez leading the study.
BYLC conducts its Youth Matters Survey (YMS) every five years as national elections near to capture the perspectives of young people regarding the country's state and future aspirations.
The previous survey was conducted in December 2023.
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5 last year, BYLC conducted the latest survey to gauge the opinions of the nation's youths on the evolving political landscape.
