Millennials, America's first digital generation, are anything but "newsless," passive, or uninterested in civic issues, according to a recent study.

Researchers from NORC at the University of Chicago and the American Press Institute found that Millennials consume news and information in strikingly different ways than did previous generations.

Contrary to popular perception, they keep up with news that is commonly referred to as "traditional" or "hard," as well as stories that connect them to hobbies, culture, jobs, and entertainment.

"This is the second study we have conducted that challenges some common perceptions about news in the digital age," Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute, said in a statement. "This one finds that across a range of metrics, the first digital generation is highly engaged. If anything, the enormous role of social media appears to have a widening impact, not a narrowing one, on the awareness of this generation."

Based on their findings, 69 percent of Millennials report getting news at least once a day -- 40 percent several times a day. Millennials say they acquire news for a variety of reasons, which include a fairly even mix of civic motivations (74 percent), problem-solving needs (63 percent), or social factors (67 percent) such as talking about it with friends.

Researchers also found that contrary to the idea that social media creates a polarizing "filter bubble," exposing people to only a narrow range of opinions, 70 percent of Millennials say that their social media feeds are comprised of a diverse mix of viewpoints evenly mixed between those similar to and different from their own. An additional 16 percent say their feeds contain mostly viewpoints different from their own. And nearly three-quarters of those exposed to different views (73 percent) report they investigate others' opinions at least some of the time -- with a quarter saying they do it always or often.

"For many Millennials, news is part of their social flow, with most seeing it as an enjoyable or entertaining experience," said Trevor Tompson, director of the AP-NORC Center. "It is possible that consuming news at specific times of the day for defined periods will soon be a thing of the past given that news is now woven into many Millennials' connected lives."