The overstated generational gap in online news use? A consolidated infrastructural perspective

Recent research by Taneja et al. suggested that digital infrastructures diminish the generational gap in news use counteracting preference structures. We expand on this seminal work arguing an infrastructural perspective requires overcoming limitations of highly aggregated web tracking data used prior research. analyze individual browsing histories two representative samples German Internet users collected 2012 ( N = 2970) and 2018 2045) find robust evidence for a smaller online than commonly assumed. While short website visits mostly demonstrated factors, longer episodes were shaped more preferences. The role social media corresponded with reduced avoidance varied repertoires. Overall, results suggest needs to reconsider held premises regarding uses modern high-choice settings.