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.
Many legislators in four English-speaking countries directly addressed George Floyd’s killing and the subsequent protests on Twitter.
Although most national officials use the platform, their posts receive only a small number of likes and retweets.
In preelection tweets about the U.S., lawmakers abroad focused on how the election will affect bilateral ties and trade.
United Kingdom legislators in the House of Lords and House of Commons tweeted more critical content of Trump’s recent visit to the nation.
What is the internet? Who is an internet user? Research suggests that some people who use the internet may not be aware that they’re doing so.
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, both economically and socially, technology adoption remains one of the defining factors in human progress. To that end, there has been a noticeable rise over the past two years in the percentage of people in the emerging and developing nations surveyed by Pew Research Center who say that they use the internet and own a smartphone.
Social networking has spread around the world with remarkable speed, and large numbers in many nations are posting their views about pop culture online, while community issues, sports and politics are also popular topics. Meanwhile, as cell phones have become nearly ubiquitous, people are using them in a variety of ways, including texting and taking pictures, and many smart phone users also access job, consumer and political information.
Cell phones are owned by large majorities of people in major countries around the world, and they are used for much more than just phone calls. In particular, texting is widespread in both wealthy nations and the developing world. Social networking is also popular in many nations around the globe.
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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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