How do you get teenagers to read newspapers? The Hindu In School team is often asked this question by teachers, parents, and fellow journalists. It is also something that we reflect on while writing and producing a newspaper that caters to young readers between the ages of 13 and 18.
The question assumes importance because multiple studies, conducted around the world, claim that the rate of students reading for pleasure or general awareness is declining sharply. These surveys blame the trend on social media, specifically short-form videos, which has significantly altered the patterns of information consumption.
One such survey conducted in the U.K. in 2025, by the communication regulator Ofcom, showed that 57% of respondents in the age range of 12-15 were getting their news and information from social media platforms. The scenario is not very different in other countries, including India.
As one journalism student told the In School team during an interaction, “I don’t go looking for news on social media. It comes as part of the overall content that I view. What I like is that I can instantly react to the news, through likes, shares, and comments.” This is a popular sentiment among young readers.
Social media has played a significant role in enabling the youth to express themselves, especially in societies where their freedom of expression is restrained. Yet, most of the content pushed to them is not age-appropriate, which is one of the reasons why Australia imposed a ban on social media use for children below 16.
But even on traditional platforms, there is precious little space for child-friendly journalism. This makes the task of creating news that is inclusive, accessible, and explanatory for readers of all ages both daunting and deeply rewarding. Coming back to the question of getting children to read, here is what we do.
We try to cover news that makes sense in their world and present it in their “language”. Which is why our headlines look different from the main edition. For instance, stories about the birth anniversary of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, board examination preparation tips, and research into why you cannot wiggle your toes like your fingers make it to our front page. We focus on topics that are of importance and interest to teen readers.
For many of them, we are their first introduction to news. So, we try to keep it simple. We break down developments to explain context and consequences. We re-invert the inverted pyramid — the traditional form of reporting news with information ordered based on their importance — to tell stories sequentially and chronologically, placing greater emphasis on explanatory journalism.
Since many teenagers are exhausted by their academic workload, we try not to overwhelm them with information. A story on climate change, for instance, may be presented through photographs and graphics rather than dense statistics. We turn empirical data into anecdotal stories that readers can relate to.
For children with an appetite for deeper reading, we narrate national, international, and civic news as stories that are easier to absorb. We have even created a monthly board game to help children engage with news. We present the news of the month on the board game, and every positive news takes the player ahead while negative ones push them back.
What also helps engage young readers is making them feel like they are a part of the editorial process. They write to us regularly, to share their stories, poems, and opinions about news developments, and even puzzles and games. Given the volume of submissions, we dedicated last year’s Children’s Day issue to articles written by our teen contributors.
The sheer enthusiasm and response underlined us that there is still a significant number of teenagers who enjoy reading news in print. This includes many first-generation English learners who use school newspapers as an educational tool to strengthen their language skills.
Published – January 02, 2026 12:13 am IST
