Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
The polarizing debate over health care policy was the No. 1 story for the second week in a row—with much of the coverage focused on the implications for Barack Obama. Meanwhile, economic news took a turn for the optimistic and the “birthers” got 15 minutes (and maybe more) in the media spotlight.
Overview Polls conducted in 2009 have found fewer Americans expressing support for abortion than in previous years. In Pew Research Center polls in 2007 and 2008, supporters of legal abortion clearly outnumbered opponents; now Americans are evenly divided on the question, and there have been modest increases in the numbers who favor reducing abortions or […]
66% of internet users look online for information about a specific disease or medical problem. The percentage of internet users who look for information about a specific disease or medical problem has remained the same over the past six years. In 2002, 63% of internet users looked online for information about a specific medical problem, […]
52% of internet users look online for information about exercise or fitness. American adults have stepped up their searches for exercise and fitness tips over the last six years. Among internet users, the percentage of those seeking fitness information has jumped from 36% in the year 2002 to 52% now – one of the biggest […]
Demographic differences in broadband adoption As we did in our 2008 report on home broadband adoption, this report assesses barriers to broadband adoption through questions to dial-up users and non-internet users about why they either do not have broadband or lack internet access. At a very broad level, there are clear demographic differences between broadband, […]
While the country is facing deep economic problems, Americans remain convinced of the value of hard work, and continue to believe that individuals control their fates. And while people express greater personal financial dissatisfaction than in more than two decades of values surveys, there has been no increase in the proportion saying they are unable […]
As usual, there are more readers and listeners than writers and creators. Health care, including online health research, is a social activity. Since 2002, Pew Internet Project surveys consistently find that about half of online health inquiries are on behalf of someone else, be it a family member, friend, or someone else. In addition, two-thirds […]