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.
The share of the public that supports authoritarian systems ranges from 85% in India to 8% in Sweden.
Much larger shares of people in most nations see China’s influence growing than say the same of the United States.
Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.
People in advanced and emerging economies have mixed feelings about social media’s impact on political life.
Family is preeminent for most publics but work, material well-being and health also play a key role.
Unfavorable views of China also hover near historic highs in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed.
A median of 68% across 19 countries think their country has done a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, with majorities saying this in every country surveyed except Japan. However, most also believe the pandemic has created greater divisions in their societies and exposed weaknesses in their political systems – and these view are especially common in the U.S.
Most people view their own government’s record on personal freedoms more favorably than they do when it comes to the U.S. and especially China.
Wide majorities in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed say having people of many different backgrounds improves their society, but most also see conflicts between partisan, racial and ethnic groups.
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