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  • report

    Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn

    From the kitchen to the laundry room to the home entertainment center, Americans are paring down the list of familiar household appliances they say they can’t live without.

  • report

    The Killing of George Tiller Dominates the Blogosphere Debate

    The shooting of a controversial abortion provider triggered far more attention in social media last week than in the mainstream press, with advocates on both sides of the polarizing issue weighing in on the implications. Meanwhile, the most viewed news video on YouTube put the spotlight on an unlikely overnight sensation.

  • report

    V. The Middle Class Borrows More and Consumes More

    One of the important changes in the economic life of the middle class over the past quarter century has been the extent to which it has engaged in higher levels of consumption and taken on a higher burden of debt. At least until the current recession, housing was the key driver of both trends. From […]

  • report

    The Internet’s Role in Campaign 2008

    A majority of American adults went online in 2008 to keep informed about political developments and to get involved with the election.

  • report

    New Tricks for Old — and New — Dogs

    Pollsters and other communications researchers are finding their job ever more challenging but also more interesting, and, with the help of new techniques and data sources, even more amenable.

  • short reads

    The Simple Life

    Fully a third of people living in rural areas see five or fewer widely held consumer products as necessities rather than luxuries.

  • short reads

    Need that Computer and Cellphone

    Computers are deemed a necessity by just half (51%) of the adult public, and cell phones by 49%. But both of these products are making a swift climb up the necessity scale.

  • transcript

    Event Transcript: Faith in Flux

    The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life held a conference call with journalists to discuss the release of a new Pew Forum survey that documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes the patterns and major reasons for change. “Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.” […]