Social Media Seen as Mostly Good for Democracy Across Many Nations, But U.S. is a Major Outlier
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.
The share of Americans who say they watch television via cable or satellite has plunged from 76% in 2015 to 56% this year.
As the U.S. news industry faces a new mobile reality, how is it faring? From broadcast to print to ethnic and more, this year’s annual report on the state of the news media takes stock.
How do different social networking websites stack up when it comes to news? How many people engage with news across multiple social sites? And what are their news consumption habits on traditional platforms?
How did people use Twitter during Hurricane Sandy and what did they tweet about? A new study from PEJ shows that over half of the conversation on and around the hurricane’s landfall was news, information, photos and videos of and about the super storm.
The migration of audiences toward digital news advanced to a new level in 2011 and early 2012, the era of mobile and multidigital devices. More than three-quarters of U.S. adults own laptop or desktop computers, a number that has been stable for some years.1 Now, in addition, 44% of adults own a smartphone, and the number of tablet owners grew by about 50% since the summer of 2011, to 18% of Americans over age 18.
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