Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Spike in National Mood The public’s sense of how well the country is doing has finally caught up with Americans’ positive ratings of their own lives. In fact, the national mood is better today than at any time since the 1960s, and the public is even more optimistic about the future. Nearly one-in-three Americans give […]
Introduction and Summary President Clinton’s impeachment trial has neither engaged the attention of the American public nor changed its mind about the continuance of his presidency. The public gives Clinton high marks for his job performance, expresses satisfaction with the state of the nation and registers even more contentment with their own lives than just […]
Americans who use the Internet are substantially more informed than non-users about current events, and politically they are slightly more conservative. There also is no association between Internet use and diminished social connections. In fact, Americans who go online are more likely than those who do not to have visited with friends or family members […]
The potential for conducting public opinion surveys online is a hot topic today. With the Internet’s tremendous growth, an online poll can now compile literally tens of thousands of opinions quickly and at a fraction of the cost of traditional telephone surveys. Already many commercial websites invite people to voice their views on a range […]
Despite the dramatic growth of the Internet in recent years and the proliferation of all-news cable television outlets, network news magazine shows and other information sources, the public is not feeling overloaded with information these days. Fully 62% of Americans say they like having so much information to choose from, compared to only 28% who […]
Introduction and Summary The Internet audience is not only growing, it is getting decidedly mainstream. Two years ago, when just 23% of Americans were going online, stories about technology were the top news draw. Today, with 41% of adults using the Internet, the weather is the most popular online news attraction. Increasingly people without college […]
As the number of Americans using Internet technology continues to grow, people increasingly turn to the Internet to do research for work, get entertainment and travel information, shop, and catch up with friends and family. This wide range of activities reflects the expanding Internet population, which is beginning to look like a broader cross-section of […]
The number of Americans who go online to get news has tripled in the last three years. In 1995, just 4% of Americans went online for news at least once a week. Now, anywhere from 15% to 26% go online for news on a weekly basis, according to recent Pew Research Center surveys. This range […]
Who’s Voting Although turnout may be slightly lower this year than in 1994, there are no substantial differences in the composition of those most likely to go to the polls. As in the last midterm election, voters will be disproportionately older (49% over age 50, just 9% of those under 30), better educated and more […]