Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

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.

Icon for promotion number 1

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings

Thank you for subscribing!

  • short reads

    A Car is a Necessity

    An overwhelming number of Americans believe that a car is a necessity.

  • short reads

    Friending Grandma

    More than four-in-ten internet users ages 50 and older now use social networking sites.

  • short reads

    Texting: Adults vs. Teens

    Among those who use text messages, teens send and receive five times as many texts as adults.

  • short reads

    Do You Sleep With Your Cell Phone?

    Nearly two-thirds of adults with cell phones say they have slept with their phone on or right next to their bed.

  • short reads

    Unauthorized Immigrants Entering the U.S. Down

    An annual average of 300,000 unauthorized immigrants entered the U.S. between 2007 and 2009, down sharply from 2000 to 2005 when about 850,000 entered the U.S. each year.

  • short reads

    Fewer Unauthorized Immigrants

    The number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S. fell by 8% between March 2007 and March 2009.

  • short reads

    Email vs. Social Networks

    Young adults are just as likely to check their email as their Facebook account on a typical day; older adults still favor email.

  • short reads

    Older Adults Tweeting

    One-in-ten online adults ages 50-64 use Twitter or another status-updating service.