Although the media remain one of the key sources of information for the citizens of Montenegro, with the continued dominance of digital media, the citizens’ relationship with media is becoming increasingly complex. This is accompanied by a decline in trust in disseminated information, particularly on social media, according to research conducted by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE), within the project “Media for Democracy: Strengthening the Independence of RTCG for the Future of Montenegro”, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Social media remained the most intensively used medium over the past year as well. In 2025, 34.8% of respondents stated that they follow social media very frequently, while 30.7% do so frequently. Compared to 2024, when 40.1% reported very frequent use of social media, there is a decline in the most intensive usage, alongside an increase in the share of those who follow them rarely, indicating a change in habits and a possible audience fatigue.
In contrast to social media, online news portals have recorded an increase in the frequency of use. In 2025, 32.7% of citizens stated that they follow portals frequently, and 21.7% very frequently. Particularly significant is the decline in the number of those who do not follow portals at all – from 20.7% in 2024 to 14.1% in 2025 – confirming their growing role as a central source of information, especially for daily and current affairs.
Traditional media continue to lose audiences. Print media are not followed at all by 50.3% of citizens, while 19.6% follow them very rarely, indicating a continued decline in interest. Radio is followed rarely by 28% of citizens and very rarely by 24.2%, while the share of those who follow it frequently or very frequently has further decreased. Television, although still present in the everyday lives of a significant part of the public, also records a decline – 28.5% of citizens follow it frequently, and 21.5% very frequently, which is less than in 2024.
Media consumption in Montenegro is strongly conditioned by age and educational differences. Print media are most prevalent among those aged over 65, where the combined share of those who follow them frequently or very frequently amounts to 31.4%, while young people (aged 18 to 24) almost entirely do not follow them – as many as 95.8% state that they never or rarely use them. A similar pattern is observed with radio, which is most often followed by those with primary education (29.6%) and those aged over 65 (28.7%), while young people follow it the least, with a negative combined score of 89.3%. Television is the most prevalent medium among the oldest age group – 83% of those over 65 follow it frequently or very frequently -while among young people the negative combined score is 76.7%.
The pattern is reversed when it comes to digital media. Online news portals are most intensively followed by respondents with higher education, where the combined positive responses amount to 74.1%, while they are least followed by respondents aged over 65 (negative combined score of 75.1%). The most pronounced generational divide is visible with social media: young people follow them very intensively (93.6%), while those over 65 largely do not use them, with a negative balance of 79.7%.
Changes in media consumption habits are also accompanied by changes in the type of content consumed by citizens. Entertainment content is the most prevalent (29.1%), followed by informative and political content, which is most often followed by 27.5% of citizens. This represents a noticeable decline compared to 2024, when this share stood at 33%. Sports content remains stable (15.4%), while documentary content records growth (11.9% compared to 7.1% in 2024). Educational (4.1%) and cultural content (5.6%) remain on the margins of interest, although they are showing a slight increase.
Despite the high level of social media use, trust in information disseminated through these platforms continues to decline. The average trust rating in 2025 stands at 2.64 (on a scale from 1 to 5), compared to 2.8 in 2024, confirming a slight increase in scepticism towards digital content.
Data on social media usage show that in 2025, Facebook is followed by 26.8% of citizens, Instagram by 25.1%, YouTube by 18%, while TikTok (14.8%) and the X platform (4.4%) record a decline compared to 2024. At the same time, 5.5% state that they do not use social media at all, which is a new development compared to the previous year.
CGO emphasises that these findings point to the need to strengthen professional standards, responsibility in information dissemination, and media literacy, so that citizens to make informed decisions in an increasingly complex media environment.
The expert part of the research was conducted by the Institute Damar from 9 to 16 December 2025, with the application of the CAPI method, on a three-stage, stratified, random sample of 1,010 adult citizens of Montenegro.
Nikola Obradović, Programme Associate