Racially diverse, economically stressed and politically liberal, Millennials are building their own networks through social media – rather than through political parties, organized religion or marriage. Half now call themselves political independents, the highest share of any generation.
National rates of gun homicide and other violent gun crimes are strikingly lower now than during their peak in the mid-1990s, paralleling a general decline in violent crime, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. Beneath the long-term trend, though, are big differences by decade: Violence plunged through the 1990s, but has declined less dramatically since 2000.
Whether or not they have served, most Americans have family members who have been in the armed forces. But as the size of the military shrinks, those ties may be diminishing.
Contrary to what happens with most major national news events, the discussion of the death of Osama bin Laden in the mainstream and new media has not shifted quickly to political winners and losers. An analysis of hundreds of thousands of stories and millions of social media postings finds the discussion has remained focused on the facts of what happened. A new PEJ study has the details.