From large urban areas to rural communities, Americans often report similarly high levels of interest in news. Still, a national survey shows that community differences emerge in the number and variety of local news sources people use in different types of communities, as well as their degree of “local news participation” through social media and their mobile news consumption.

A new report from the Pew Research Center shows that many of the differences in local news consumption emerging from these data reflect the varying demographic compositions of different community types in the U.S. Some differences in the platforms people use might also be tied to the lower overall use of the internet and mobile platforms in small towns and rural areas.

“Interest in community news on all kinds of topics is quite high in every type of community,” noted Kristen Purcell of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, a co-author of the report. “Still, people get local information in different ways depending on the type of community in which they live, and they differ in the degree to which digital and mobile platforms factor into their mix of sources.”

Read more about “networked individualism” and hear Lee Rainie discuss the subject in a video.

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Nearly three quarters of Americans

(72%) report following local news closely “most of the time, whether or

not something important is happening.” Local newspapers are by far the

source they rely on for much of the local information they need.

One-third of local news enthusiasts

(32%) say it would have a major impact on them if their local newspaper no

longer existed, compared with just 19% of those less interested in local news.

Most likely to report a major impact if their newspaper disappeared are local

news followers age 40 and older (35%), though even among younger local news

followers 26% say losing the local paper would have a major impact on them.

Local news enthusiasts are more

likely than others to prefer newspapers for almost all of 16 topics that were

asked about in a survey, with the exception of weather and breaking news.

Three-in-ten or more local news enthusiasts prefer newspapers for following

crime, local politics, community events, or arts and culture. About one-quarter

prefer newspapers when seeking information about local schools, taxes,

government activity, other local business, and housing issues. Two-in-ten

primarily use newspapers for following restaurants, job openings, or local

zoning issues.

While this

seems to be positive news for local newspapers, in many cases the reliance on

newspapers is heaviest among local news enthusiasts age 40 and older, while

younger local news followers rely more heavily on other sources.  Specifically, among local news enthusiasts

under age 40, the internet is the

preferred source for eight of the 16 topics asked about, including: 

• Local restaurants, clubs and bars
• Other local businesses
• Schools and education
• Local politics
• Jobs
• Housing
• Arts and cultural events
• Community or neighborhood events

Read the full report for more

details on these subjects:

• The demographics of local news enthusiasts
• Technology use
• How local news enthusiasts relate to and perceive their

  communities

• News consumption habits of local news enthusiasts
• Willingness to pay for the local paper, in print and

  online

• Topics of interests for local news enthusiasts

Some 40% of Americans are active in a church, religious, or spiritual organization. Compared with those who are not involved with such organizations, religiously active Americans are more trusting of others, are more optimistic about their impact on their community, think more highly of their community, are more involved in more organizations of all kinds, and devote more time to the groups to which they are active.

A survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project asked people about their membership in 28 different kinds of organizations and clubs. Religious and spiritual organizations topped the list and those who were active in such groups were more active in all kinds of groups. The average number of groups that religiously active Americans are active in is 5.61, and those who are not involved with religious groups participate in 2.11 groups.

Those who are active in religious groups spend an average of 7.5 of hours per week in group activities compared with 5.4 hours for those not active in a religious group.

When it comes to their technology profile, Americans who are members of religious groups are just as likely as others to use the internet, have broadband at home, use cell phones, use text messaging, and use social networking sites and Twitter.

Read the full report for detailed findings on the levels of community involvement among religious Americans and how they use the different technologies such as the internet, text messaging and social networking sites.

Other factors play a much smaller role: 14% of users say that connecting around a shared hobby or interest is a major reason they use social media and 9% say that making new friends is equally important. Reading comments by public figures and finding potential romantic partners are cited as major factors by just 5% and 3% of social media users, respectively.

The survey was conducted Apr. 26-May 22, 2011. Read the full report for more information about the degree to which different age and ethnic groups value social media.

See the full report for more details, including differences among age and ethnic groups when it comes to what they value most in social media.

Summary of Findings

Questions have been raised about the social impact of widespread use of social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter. Do these technologies isolate people and truncate their relationships? Or are there benefits associated with being connected to others in this way? The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project decided to examine SNS in a survey that explored people’s overall social networks and how use of these technologies is related to trust, tolerance, social support, and community and political engagement.

The findings presented here paint a rich and complex picture of the role that digital technology plays in people’s social worlds. Wherever possible, we seek to disentangle whether people’s varying social behaviors and attitudes are related to the different ways they use social networking sites, or to other relevant demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and social class.

The number of those using social networking sites has nearly doubled since 2008 and the population of SNS users has gotten older.

In this Pew Internet Project sample, 79% of American adults said they used the internet and nearly half of adults (47%), or 59% of internet users, say they use at least one of SNS. This is close to double the 26% of adults (34% of internet users) who used a SNS in 2008. Among other things, this means the average age of adult-SNS users has shifted from 33 in 2008 to 38 in 2010. Over half of all adult SNS users are now over the age of 35. Some 56% of SNS users now are female.

Facebook dominates the SNS space in this survey: 92% of SNS users are on Facebook; 29% use MySpace, 18% used LinkedIn and 13% use Twitter.

There is considerable variance in the way people use various social networking sites: 52% of Facebook users and 33% of Twitter users engage with the platform daily, while only 7% of MySpace and 6% of LinkedIn users do the same.

On Facebook on an average day:

• 15% of Facebook users update their own status.
• 22% comment on another’s post or status.
• 20% comment on another user’s photos.
• 26% “Like” another user’s content.
• 10% send another user a private message

Facebook users are more trusting than others.

We asked people if they felt “that most people can be trusted.” When we used regression analysis to control for demographic factors, we found that the typical internet user is more than twice as likely as others to feel that people can be trusted. Further, we found that Facebook users are even more likely to be trusting. We used regression analysis to control for other factors and found that a Facebook user who uses the site multiple times per day is 43% more likely than other internet users and more than three times as likely as non-internet users to feel that most people can be trusted.

Facebook users have more close relationships.

The average American has just over two discussion confidants (2.16) — that is, people with whom they discuss important matters. This is a modest, but significantly larger number than the average of 1.93 core ties reported when we asked this same question in 2008. Controlling for other factors we found that someone who uses Facebook several times per day averages 9% more close, core ties in their overall social network compared with other internet users.

Facebook users get more social support than other people.

We looked at how much total support, emotional support, companionship and instrumental aid adults receive. On a scale of 100, the average American scored 75/100 on a scale of total support, 75/100 on emotional support (such as receiving advice), 76/100 in companionship (such as having people to spend time with), and 75/100 in instrumental aid (such as having someone to help if they are sick in bed).

Internet users in general score three points higher in total support, six points higher in companionship, and four points higher in instrumental support. A Facebook user who uses the site multiple times per day tends to score an additional five points higher in total support, five points higher in emotional support, and five points higher in companionship, than internet users of similar demographic characteristics. For Facebook users, the additional boost is equivalent to about half the total support that the average American receives as a result of being married or cohabitating with a partner.

Facebook users are much more politically engaged than most people.

Our survey was conducted over the November 2010 elections. At that time, 10% of Americans reported that they had attended a political rally, 23% reported that they had tried to convince someone to vote for a specific candidate, and 66% reported that they had or intended to vote. Internet users in general were over twice as likely to attend a political meeting, 78% more likely to try and influence someone’s vote, and 53% more likely to have voted or intended to vote. Compared with other internet users, and users of other SNS platforms, a Facebook user who uses the site multiple times per day was an additional two and half times more likely to attend a political rally or meeting, 57% more likely to persuade someone on their vote, and an additional 43% more likely to have said they would vote.

Facebook revives “dormant” relationships.

In our sample, the average Facebook user has 229 Facebook friends. They reported that their friends list contains:

• 22% people from high school.
• 12% extended family.
• 10% coworkers.
• 9% college friends.
• 8% immediate family.
• 7% people from voluntary groups.
• 2% neighbors.

Over 31% of Facebook friends cannot be classified into these categories. However, only 3% of Facebook friends are people users have never met in person, and only 7% are people who have met only one time. The remainder is friends-of-friends and social ties that are not currently active relationships, but “dormant” ties that may, at some point in time, become an important source of information.

Social networking sites are increasingly used to keep up with close social ties.

Looking only at those people that SNS users report as their core discussion confidants, 40% of users have friended all of their closest confidants. This is a substantial increase from the 29% of users who reported in our 2008 survey that they had friended all of their core confidants.

MySpace users are more likely to be open to opposing points of view.

We measured “perspective taking,” or the ability of people to consider multiple points of view. There is no evidence that SNS users, including those who use Facebook, are any more likely than others to cocoon themselves in social networks of like-minded and similar people, as some have feared.

Moreover, regression analysis found that those who use MySpace have significantly higher levels of perspective taking. The average adult scored 64/100 on a scale of perspective taking, using regression analysis to control for demographic factors, a MySpace user who uses the site a half dozen times per month tends to score about eight points higher on the scale.

Read the full report for an in-depth look at who are SNS users, what users do on SNS and how SNS are affecting relationships at pewinternet.org.

When people think about issues in their communities, they usually frame those issues through practical questions they would like to see addressed. Is the town budget too high or too low? Are teachers doing a good job? Are the streets safe? Do emergency responders have the right training? How can traffic congestion be eased? Does the library have the best technology for patrons? Do zoning rules work the best way? Are all the people in the community getting fair access to social services?

The way that people address questions like those is to gather, share and act on information. Yet there is not much knowledge about how the parts of a community’s information system work and fit together. Believing it would be useful for communities to examine how well their own information systems were performing, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation asked the Monitor Institute to explore key components of local information systems in three communities with advisory help from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. This report is the fruit of an eight-month research effort pilot testing several research methods in Macon, Philadelphia, and San Jose to probe key parts of those systems. Some of the findings, especially in surveys conducted in the communities, were notable and surprising:

• Those who think local government does well in sharing information are also more likely to be satisfied with other parts of civic life. Those who believe city hall is forthcoming are more likely than others to feel good about: the overall quality of their community, the ability of the entire information environment of their community to give them the information that matters, the overall performance of their local government and the performance of all manner of civic and journalistic institutions.
• Broadband users are sometimes less satisfied than others with community life. That raises the possibility that upgrades in a local information system might produce more critical, activist citizens.
• Social media like Facebook and Twitter are emerging as key parts of the civic landscape and mobile connectivity is beginning to affect people’s interactions with civic life. Some 32% of the internet users in the three communities combined get local news from a social networking site — 19% get such news from blogs and 7% get such news from Twitter. And 32% post updates and local news on social networking sites.
• If citizens feel empowered, communities get benefits in both directions. Those who believe they can impact their community are more likely to be engaged in civic activities and are more likely to be satisfied with their towns.

These surveys were part of an exploratory period of research by the Monitor Institute and the Pew Internet Project that used several methodologies to examine the components of local information systems that were highlighted by the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, a joint project with the Aspen Institute. The commission argued in October 2009 that a healthy democratic community depends on a strong information system and engaged citizens who take advantage of that information. The Commission maintained there are three dimensions of the system: a robust, diverse supply of information, a sophisticated communications infrastructure for delivering information and residents with the skills needed to access that information and use it in effective ways to address their community’s needs. Further, Commission members said they believed there were several key indicators of information systems that performed well:

1. Quality journalism through local newspapers, local television and radio stations and online sources.
2. A local government with a committed policy on transparency.
3. Citizens with effective opportunities to have their voices heard and to affect public policy.
4. Ready access to information that enhances quality of life, including information provided by trusted intermediary organizations in the community on a variety of subjects.
5. High speed internet available to all citizens.
6. Local schools with computer and high-speed internet access, as well as curricula that support digital and media literacy.
7. A vibrant public library or other public center for information that provides digital resources and professional assistance.
8. A majority of government information and services online, accessible through a central and easy-to-use portal.

The aim of the Monitor Institute-Pew Internet work was to try to examine these different components of the information systems in three communities and the Monitor Institute was asked to create an easy-to-use set of tools to help community leaders assess and improve their local information ecology. Version 1.0 of the Community Information Toolkit can be accessed at www.infotoolkit.org. In addition, there was an opportunity to probe more deeply with the surveys and those findings make up the core of this report. They sometimes highlight consistent patterns of adoption, impact and interaction among the features of local information systems. At the same time, there are varying results depending on the community.

Read about some of the key findings, especially those emerging from telephone surveys of 500 residents of each town capturing a representative sample of the community residents, in the full report at pewinternet.org.

Summary of Findings

The internet gives patients and caregivers access not only to information, but also to each other.

Many Americans turn to friends and family for support and advice when they have a health problem. This report shows how people’s networks are expanding to include online peers, particularly in the crucible of rare disease. Health professionals remain the central source of information for most Americans, but “peer-to-peer healthcare” is a significant supplement.

This report is based in part on a national telephone survey of 3,001 adults that provides an estimate of how widespread this activity is in the U.S. All numerical data included in the report are based on the telephone survey. The other part of the analysis is based on an online survey of 2,156 members of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) who wrote short essays about their use of the internet in caring for themselves or for their loved ones.

One-in-five internet users have gone online to find others like them.

Eighteen percent of internet users say they have gone online to find others who might have health concerns similar to theirs.

The most striking finding of the national survey is the extent of peer-to-peer help among people living with chronic conditions. One-in-four internet users living with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions, lung conditions, cancer or some other chronic ailment (23%) say they have gone online to find others with similar health concerns. By contrast, 15% of internet users who report no chronic conditions have sought such help online.

Other groups who are likely to look online for people who share their same health concerns include: internet users who are caring for a loved one, internet users who experienced a medical crisis in the past year and internet users who have experienced a significant change in their physical health, such as weight loss or gain, pregnancy or quitting smoking.

Some of the most notable interactions involve people who meet online for the first time. There were numerous examples of these powerful long-distance connections in our online survey of patients and caregivers who take part in rare-disease communities. One adult living with a rare condition described how she connected with another patient online, bonded, and then enriched the friendship with in-person encounters: “The first time I met another patient, face to face, I sobbed. I was overjoyed and began to communicate with them on a regular basis and my network grew.”

In the moment of need, most people turn to a health professional for information, care, or support.

When asked about the last time they had a health issue, 71% of adults in the U.S. say they received information, care or support from a health professional. Fifty-five percent of adults say they turned to friends and family. Twenty-one percent of adults say they turned to others who have the same health condition.

The majority of health care conversations happen offline: Just 5% of adults say they received online information, care or support from a health professional, 13% say they had online contact with friends and family, and 5% say they interacted online with fellow patients.

In our online survey, patients and caregivers were asked the same question about the last time they had a health issue. The people living with a rare disease who responded to the survey far outpaced all other groups, including those living with chronic conditions, in tapping the wisdom of their peer network. More than half of rare-disease respondents say they turned to family and friends. Another majority say they turned to others who have the same health condition.

A mother of a small child with a rare condition wrote about the lifeline she has found online: “When a disease is so rare and there are no folks in your town, and few in your state who are going through what you are going through, you need a support group that encompasses people from all over the world. Getting to know people through the disorder has been an amazing experience and has created incredibly wonderful friendships and ties.”

People turn to different sources for different kinds of information.

In the national survey, adults were asked which group is more helpful when they need certain types of information or support: health professionals such as doctors and nurses or peers such as fellow patients, friends, and family. A relatively clear pattern of responses emerged: When the issue involved technical issues related to a health issue, professionals held sway. When the issue involved more personal issues of how to cope with a health issue or get quick relief, then non-professionals were preferred by most patients.

Many people find the internet to be a valuable tool, whether they are using it to search for a quick answer or gain a deeper understanding of a new treatment option or prescription. As one respondent in the online survey commented, “When time is of the essence, search on the internet is the only way to time travel.” The internet is also, as this study shows, a way to tap into our instincts to gather together, help other people, and be helped ourselves.

Read the full report at pewinternet.org.

A correction to this data has been posted.