---
title: "Americans say keeping up with key news topics is crucial. But fewer say they’re highly informed themselves"
description: "Democrats and Republicans broadly show similar patterns in how they evaluate the importance of staying informed about various topics."
date: "2026-06-05"
authors:
  - name: "Luxuan Wang"
    job_title: "Research Associate"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/luxuan-wang/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/06/05/americans-say-keeping-up-with-key-news-topics-is-crucial-but-fewer-say-theyre-highly-informed-themselves/"
categories:
  - "Election News"
  - "Media & Society"
  - "News Media Trends"
  - "Science News & Information"
---

# Americans say keeping up with key news topics is crucial. But fewer say they’re highly informed themselves

![(The Good Brigade/Getty Images)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_news-topics_featured.jpg?w=640)

Americans overwhelmingly say it’s extremely or very important for people to stay informed about a range of news topics, including the healthcare system (82%), voting and election processes (82%), and what the president can and cannot do (80%). But far fewer say they’re extremely or very informed about these topics themselves, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March.

The survey asked U.S. adults about 11 news topics. Majorities say it’s highly important for individual Americans to stay informed about nearly all of them – even as far fewer say they’re personally well-informed in these areas.

**About this research**

This Pew Research Center analysis looks at the perceived importance of following several news topics, as well as how informed Americans feel about those topics.

#### Why we did this

Pew Research Center regularly studies [how Americans consume news](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet/) and how they learn about civic issues. This research builds on our earlier work in these areas.

Learn more about [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) and our research on [news habits and media](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/news-habits-media/).

#### How we did this

For this analysis, we surveyed 1,031 U.S. adults from March 6 to 9, 2026. The survey was conducted by SSRS for Pew Research Center on the SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, multimode (web and phone), probability-based panel recruited primarily through national, random sampling of residential addresses. The survey is weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

Here are the [survey questions](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_news-topics_questionnaire.pdf) used for this analysis, the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_news-topics_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_news-topics_methodology.pdf).

### Most Americans say it’s important to stay informed on key issues, but fewer feel highly informed themselves

*% of U.S. adults who say …*

|  | They are extremely or very informed about ... | It is extremely or very important for individual Americans to stay informed about ... |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The healthcare system | 34 | 82 |
| Voting and election processes | 50 | 82 |
| What the president can and cannot do | 36 | 80 |
| Immigration and citizenship policies | 39 | 76 |
| Economic and tax policies | 24 | 75 |
| Social Security | 31 | 72 |
| U.S. foreign policy | 23 | 71 |
| Gun regulation | 33 | 69 |
| Childhood vaccine policies | 31 | 69 |
| Federal regulation of technology and media companies | 15 | 52 |
| Marijuana regulation | 23 | 31 |

Note: Other responses for the question on how informed people are about each topic include “Somewhat informed,” “Not too informed” and “Not at all informed.” Other responses for the question on how important people think it is for individual Americans to stay informed about each topic include “Somewhat important,” “Not too important” and “Not at all important.”

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 6-9, 2026.

For instance, three-quarters of adults say it’s extremely or very important to know about economic and tax policies, but just 24% feel highly informed themselves. Another 51% say they’re somewhat informed, while 24% are not too or not at all informed.

Older adults are more likely than younger Americans to say it’s important for people to stay informed about several topics – and to feel informed on these topics themselves. Our previous research has found that older adults are also more likely than younger adults to say [it’s important to get news on a regular basis](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/02/11/the-age-divide-in-how-americans-think-about-news/) and to view following news as a civic duty.

Democrats and Republicans broadly show similar patterns in how they evaluate the importance of staying informed about various topics, as well as how informed they say they are.

But there are some modest partisan gaps. For instance, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners to say it’s extremely or very important for people to stay informed about what the president can and cannot do (88% vs. 74%) and childhood vaccine policies (73% vs. 65%).

When it comes to feeling informed, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they personally are highly informed about voting and election processes (54% vs. 46%), immigration policies (44% vs. 35%) and gun regulation (39% vs. 26%).

#### Americans rely on many pathways to get information about different topics

Americans have a diverse information diet when it comes to keeping up with the topics asked about in our March survey.

On many topics, such as U.S. foreign policy and immigration and citizenship policies, the news media ranks as the public’s top source of information. On other topics, such as Social Security and voting and election processes, many Americans also turn to government sources.

Social media is generally a more common source of information for young adults than their older counterparts. This aligns with [previous Center research](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2025/12/03/young-adults-and-the-future-of-news/) showing that younger Americans are much more likely than older people to get news from social media in general.

Relatively few Americans name school or formal education as a main source of information for most topics. But 18% say it’s their top pathway for learning about the extent and limits of presidential power.

### Americans’ main sources of information on various topics are diverse

*% of U.S. adults who say their main source for information about each of the following topics is …*

|  | News media | Government sources | Social media | Friends, family or acquaintances | School or formal education | Some other source | Don't get information about this topic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The healthcare system | 37 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| Voting and election processes | 37 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 7 |
| What the president can and cannot do | 37 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 8 |
| Immigration and citizenship policies | 46 | 19 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Economic and tax policies | 44 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 |
| Social Security | 31 | 31 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| U.S. foreign policy | 51 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| Gun regulation | 40 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| Childhood vaccine policies | 36 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 14 |
| Federal regulation of technology and media companies | 44 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| Marijuana regulation | 42 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 15 |

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 6-9, 2026.

*Note: Here are the [survey questions](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_news-topics_questionnaire.pdf) used for this analysis, the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_news-topics_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_news-topics_methodology.pdf).*