Technology Device Ownership: 2015
Smartphone and tablet ownership continues to rise, while the adoption of some digital devices has slowed and even declined in recent years.
Self-Employed Workers and Job Creation
Self-employed Americans and the workers they hired accounted for 44 million jobs in 2014, or 30% of the national workforce. Hiring is more prevalent among self-employed Asians, whites and men.
Religion and Science
A majority of the public says science and religion often conflict, but people’s sense that they do seems to have less to do with their own religious beliefs than their perception of others' beliefs.
Mobile Messaging and Social Media 2015
36% of adult smartphone owners use messaging apps, while 17% use apps that automatically delete sent messages. These types of apps are adding to an already complex terrain of digital and social communication. Meanwhile, social media platforms continue to attract dedicated users.
Continued Bipartisan Support for Expanded Background Checks
The public continues to overwhelmingly support making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks, as well as laws to prevent people with mental illness from purchasing guns.
Teens, Technology and Friendships
American teens don't just make friends in the schoolyard or neighborhood — many are finding new friends online. Video games, social media and mobile phones play an integral role in how teens meet and interact.
Across Racial Lines, More Say Nation Needs to Make Changes to Achieve Racial Equality
Over the past year, there has been a substantial rise in the share of Americans — across racial and ethnic groups — who say the country needs to continue making changes to give blacks equal rights with whites.
Russia, Putin Held in Low Regard around the World
Outside its own borders, neither Russia nor its president, Vladimir Putin, receives much respect or support, with a median of only 30% across 39 nations surveyed seeing Russia favorably.
Negative Views of Supreme Court at Record High
Following major, end-of-term rulings on the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage, unfavorable opinions of the Supreme Court have reached a 30-year high.
More Millennials Living With Family
Despite improvements in the labor market, Millennials today are less likely to be living independently of their families and establishing their own households than they were in the depths of the Great Recession.
