News consumption habits on social media: a study of unemployed Kenyan millennials at National Employment Authority in Kasarani sub-county

Social media started as a social meeting point where users met to socialize, network and connect. The earliest users of social media applications were millennials and with time they became addicts and spent a lot of time online. The study aimed to identify the social media applications Kenyan Millennials use to consume news, what motivates them to use the applications, the gratification they get and amount of time they spend on news on social media. The study was carried out at the National Employment Authority headquarters in Kasarani Sub-County. The study targeted all walk-ins to the office for a period of five working days. The study adopted a descriptive research design and used semi-structured questionnaire to collect data. This study found that Kenyan millennials consume news on social media using various social media applications. Facebook was the leading social media application followed by YouTube, Twitter and WhatsApp. Kenyan millennials were found to rely on motivations as the determinant factor for the social media application used to consume news. The usability and functionalities of a social media application that enables a user to satisfy their news need were cited as the main motivation for consuming news on social media applications. Kenyan millennials indicated that they are satisfied with news on social media and spend on average one hour 30minutes daily on news. The study gave corporates, businesses and media outlets an understanding of the nature of millennials on social media; this information benefits their use of social media either as a marketplace or news distribution channel and their chances of reaching target consumers. This study also revealed the factors application developers should consider to make their applications user-friendly and translate to high uptake