Internet Activities

Today, 67% of U.S. adults get at least some news on social media. Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat serve as sources of news for more of their users, though Facebook still leads as a source of news for Americans.

As of August 2017, 43% of Americans report often getting news online, just 7 points lower than the 50% who often get news on television.

In both legislative chambers, members’ ideology is a strong predictor of the number of people who follow them on Facebook.

Many experts say lack of trust won't hinder increased public reliance on the internet. Some expect trust to grow as tech and regulatory changes arise; others think it will worsen or maybe change entirely.

About one-in-four Americans who have been harassed online say an acquaintance was behind their most recent incident.

Although online harassment can take many forms, some minority groups in America more frequently encounter harassment that carries racial overtones.

Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to have been harassed online because of their political views, but there are some notable differences in how members of each party view the issue of online harassment.

Among women who have experienced any form of online harassment, 35% say they found their most recent incident to be “extremely” or “very” upsetting.

Read a Q&A with Maeve Duggan, Pew Research Center research associate, on our survey examining online harassment in the United States.

Most Americans say that online harassment is a major problem, and many look to a host of institutions to curtail online abuse.