Publications

Lee Rainie will discuss the Project’s latest findings about how people use the internet, smartphones, and social media tools to get news, share news, and create news.

Overview Just a third of Americans have a favorable opinion of the federal government, the lowest positive rating in 15 years. Yet opinions about state and local governments remain favorable, on balance. As a result, the gap between favorable ratings of the federal government and state and local governments is wider than ever. Ten years […]

Starting in 2013, the Census Bureau would like all of the more than 3 million households that receive its American Community Survey to be pushed to respond online, instead of mailing back the traditional paper questionnaire. The bureau recently released results of a test of online response that had some encouraging results.

Three-in-ten (30%) female veterans say they have served in a combat or war zone since 9/11; that compares to 57% of male veterans say they have done so.

Although it has been a contentious issue in many states, just 28% of voters view gay marriage as a very important issue.

Between 2009 and 2011, foreign-born workers experienced a 5.2% increase in employment, from 21.5 million to 22.6 million. In comparison, native-born workers experienced just a 1.8% increase over this same period.

The percentage of young men (ages 18 to 34) who say a successful marriage is one of the most important things in their lives has dropped six percentage points since 1997, from 35% to 29%. The percentage of young women who put a priority on having a successful marriage has risen during that period.

Just 32% of the public now says that the U.S. should keep troops in Afghanistan until the situation there has stabilized.

The impending release of Google Drive and looming changes at Google+ triggered a lively online discussion last week as bloggers generally seemed to welcome these new developments. On Twitter, it was another big week for pop stars while a tragic car accident in Japan registered as the most viewed news video.

Overview Opinions about a pair of contentious social issues, gun control and gay marriage, have changed substantially since previous presidential campaigns. On gun control, Americans have become more conservative; on gay marriage, they have become more liberal. Currently, 49% of Americans say it is more important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns, […]