Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Americans’ Use of Social Media in 2026

Today YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Explore the demographic patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.

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Online Community and Connection in America

Nearly four-in-ten U.S. adults are in an online community. These virtual third spaces can take many forms, like Facebook groups, online video games or fandom forums on Reddit.

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    New Research From JCMC

    A new issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication was recently published online, with articles on topics ranging from Facebook to online fantasy sports.

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    Internet News Audience Highly Critical of News Organizations

    Summary of Findings The American public continues to fault news organizations for a number of perceived failures, with solid majorities criticizing them for political bias, inaccuracy and failing to acknowledge mistakes. But some of the harshest indictments of the press now come from the growing segment that relies on the internet as its main source […]

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    What are parents doing to protect teens online?

    Recent headlines about the discovery and removal of 29,000 registered sex offenders on MySpace have added fuel to the fiery debate about the safety of online social networks.

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    Social Ties and Obesity

    Loved ones not only influence your choice of school, car, or housing — they might influence your choices about smoking, exercise, and food, even if they live hundreds of miles away.

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    Online Video

    The growing adoption of broadband combined with a dramatic push by content providers to promote online video has helped to pave the way for mainstream audiences to embrace online video viewing. Fifty-seven percent of online adults have used the inter…

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    Second Screen Experiences

    Expert perspectives on "second screen experiences" at a Web Managers Roundtable.

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    Uploading Democracy: Candidates Field YouTube Questions

    Tuesday night’s Democratic debate was widely anticipated for its groundbreaking format. Candidates took on a host of issues asked by citizens via YouTube videos; what follows is an analysis of the format and major themes of the debate as compared with public opinion data.

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    Election 2008

    The presidential hopefuls are using their web sites for unprecedented two-way communication with citizens. But what are voters learning here? Is it more than a way to bypass the media? A new PEJ study of 19 campaign sites finds Democrats are more interactive, Republicans are more likely to talk about “values,” and neither wants to talk about ideology.

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    Campaign Internet Videos: Viewed More on TV than Online

    Summary of Findings Short videos produced for the internet are becoming an important component of campaign news. In some cases, candidates themselves are producing videos and releasing them on their campaign websites. Candidates also are seeing their own gaffes or embarrassing moments packaged in a brief video and put up on the web for all […]

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