Nearly two years after Snowden’s revelations, 87% of Americans say they have heard about U.S. surveillance programs. Among them, 25% say they have changed their own technological behaviors in some way.
Most scientists (87%) believe it is important to participate in public policy debates. Almost half use social media to discuss or follow science, and nearly a quarter blog about science and research.
Different demographic groups think differently about scientific issues. For example, those more likely to think genetically modified food is unsafe include women, African-Americans and Hispanics, and those without college degrees.
Both the American public and scientists value the contributions of science, but there are large differences in how each perceives science-related issues.
Frequent use of social media is not directly related to higher stress. But stress can be contagious through social media channels: Social media users are often more aware of the stressful events in others’ lives, and this awareness itself can lead to higher stress.
While Facebook remains the most popular site, other platforms — like LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter — saw higher rates of growth over the past year. In 2014, 52% of online adults used two or more social media sites, up from 42% in 2013.
Email remains the most important digital tool for workers. Just 7% of online job holders say the internet makes them less productive at work, but 36% say they spend more time working because of the internet and cell phones.
Will governments and corporations expand current tracking policies? Or will innovators create new ways for individuals to control personal information? Experts are divided on whether a secure and balanced privacy-rights infrastructure will be in place by 2025.
Fully 87% of online Americans say the web helps them learn new things, and 72% say it improves their ability to share ideas. Most enjoy having access to more information, rather than feel overloaded by it.
Three-quarters of online Americans know which is bigger, a megabyte or a kilobyte, but only 9% are able to correctly identify the first widely popular graphical web browser. How much do you know about the web and digital technology?
