Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
With Election Day less than two weeks away, debates over the death penalty are heating up in gubernatorial races in California, Connecticut and Illinois. On Oct. 14, California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, a staunch death penalty supporter, released a television ad attacking her Democratic opponent, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, for his position on […]
There was a significant spike in coverage of the troubled U.S. economy last week as Washington seemed to start tackling some of the key issues more aggressively. And if Julian Assange wasn’t already a household word, the man famous for sharing U.S. secrets generated enormous attention with new revelations.
This data set contains questions about Twitter use, and was used in our 2010 update on Twitter adoption.
Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older has nearly doubled—from 22% to 42%—over the past year. Status updating has also grown in popularity among older users; one in ten say they use Twitter or another service to share updates…
About 100 pastors across the country took part in “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” on Sept. 26 by endorsing political candidates during their sermons, ABC News reports. The event was organized as part of a protest against a provision in the Internal Revenue Code that bars houses of worship and other tax-exempt organizations from supporting or opposing […]
A survey concluding that non-believers know more about religion than believers sparked an intense and heartfelt conversation among bloggers last week. On Twitter, a disturbing discovery in a loaf of bread was the top story. And on YouTube, a Swiss politician with the giggles became an international video star.
Nearly eight-in-ten registered voters (78%) say they received printed mail from candidates or political groups during the 2010 election campaign. Nearly seven-in-ten (69%) received pre-recorded telephone calls about the election. The number of people receiving recorded telephone calls grew steadily over the final few weeks of the campaign, increasing from 55% in mid-October, to 60% […]
The transition to mobile computing devices The rise of “apps culture” reflects the transition of cell phones from voice communication devices to mobile computing devices. As cell phone use in general increases, wireless internet use is also on the rise, particularly among Hispanic and African-American adults.[6.numoffset=”6″ Aaron Smith, Mobile Access 2010, July 7, 2010. Available […]
Catholic bishops in Minnesota and Iowa have entered the pre-election fray over same-sex marriage. On Sept. 22, Catholic bishops in Minnesota mailed more than 400,000 DVDs to Catholics across the state in support of traditional marriage, according to the Star Tribune. Critics of the DVD campaign have said that the video amounts to an implicit […]