Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Short Reads

Short-form data and analysis from Pew Research Center writers and social scientists. To view all our reports and publications, visit our main Publications page.

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  • short reads

    Cohabitation a Step Toward Marriage?

    Among Americans who have ever lived with an unmarried partner, nearly two-thirds say they thought about it as a step toward marriage.

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    Very Satisfied with Family Life

    Three-quarters of adults say they are very satisfied with their family life; 19% are somewhat satisfied.

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    Optimistic about Future of Marriage

    Despite large changes in family structure and formation rates, the public maintains a strongly positive view about marriage and the family.

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    Healthy Partisanship

    Two thirds of Republicans say the country is losing ground on the way the health care system is working, up from 41% in December 2008.

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    Disapprove of Single Mothers

    Seven-in-ten say the trend toward more single women having children is bad for society, and 61% say that a child needs both a mother and father to grow up happily.

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    Marriage Is Obsolete

    Nearly four-in-ten survey respondents say that marriage has become obsolete as an institution in American life.

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    The Class-Based Marriage Gap

    In 2008, a 16-percentage-point gap separated marriage rates of college graduates (64%) and of those with a high school diploma or less (48%).

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    Married Twenty-Somethings

    Only about a quarter of young adults were married in 2008. This compared with about two-thirds in 1960.

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    Technology Use Around the World in 2010

    Looking across 16 countries for which trends are available, the median percentage of people who own a cell phone has risen from 45% in 2002 to 81% in 2010.

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    Global Social Networking

    Along with the U.S., three other nations surveyed have at least four-in-ten adults on social networks: Poland, Britain and South Korea.