Friendships

Close to half of U.S. teens say they are on the internet “almost constantly." Yet highly plugged-in youth in America are just as likely as their less-connected peers to socialize regularly with their friends in person.

Teens credit social media for helping to build stronger friendships and exposing them to a more diverse world, but they express concern that these sites lead to drama and social pressure.

Four topics are universally associated with higher levels of life satisfaction: a person’s good health, romantic partner, friends and career.

Family is the most common source of meaning in America, but economic, religious and political divides shape where people find meaning in other aspects of life.

The U.S. has more foreign students enrolled in its colleges and universities than any other country in the world. Explore data about foreign students in the U.S. higher education system.

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

In an increasingly contentious presidential campaign, just a quarter of voters who support Donald Trump in the general election say they have a lot or some close friends who are supporters of Hillary Clinton. Even fewer Clinton backers (18%) say they have at least some friends who support Trump.

31% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans say it would be harder to get along with a new neighbor from the other party.

Just half of Americans (52%) say they trust all or most of their neighbors, while a similar share (48%) say they trust some or none of their neighbors. Neighborly trust also varies between demographic groups.

A new Pew Research Center study of the ways religion influences the daily lives of Americans finds that people who are highly religious are more engaged with their extended families, more likely to volunteer, more involved in their communities and generally happier with the way things are going in their lives.