From Print to Platform: The Changing Media Preferences of Indian College Students
Author(s): Ms. Sumedha, Dr. Manoj Kumar
Authors Affiliations:
1 Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, NIILM University, Kaithal, Haryana, India
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication , NIILM University, Kaithal, Haryana, India
DOIs:10.2015/IJIRMF/202610025 | Paper ID: IJIRMF202610025Abstract: College students in India belong to the first generation to grow up with cheap mobile data, low-cost smartphones and a large supply of regional-language video. This article synthesises secondary evidence from Indian and India-specific sources: the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 (India), the Kantar–IAMAI Internet in India report, YouGov’s urban India media tracking, a CLSA estimate of OTT audiences, a Dentsu Aegis Network India study of urban youth, and student-level surveys conducted in Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Karnataka. The evidence points to a smartphone-centred, video-led media diet in which YouTube is the dominant platform, WhatsApp is a major channel for news, OTT streaming is displacing scheduled television, and podcasts and AI tools are early but growing. Print and television remain present, especially for trust and for older audiences, but they are secondary for the youngest users. The article also notes the limits of the available data: very few sources isolate college students, and several large datasets are urban, online and English-leaning.
Ms. Sumedha, Dr. Manoj Kumar (2026); From Print to Platform: The Changing Media Preferences of Indian College Students, International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field, ISSN(O): 2455-0620, Vol-12, Issue-10, Available on – https://www.ijirmf.com/