Coming of Age in a Tough Economy
Young Adults Struggling,
But Optimistic About Future
9 February 2012 A plurality of Americans believe young adults are having the toughest time of any age group in today's economy, and even more of the public says young people are finding it harder to pay for college, find a job, buy a home or save for the future than it was for their parents' generation. In spite of the hardships young adults face, their long-term economic optimism remains unscarred.
Cable Leads the Pack
As Campaign News Source
7 February 2012 More than a third of Americans get their information about the presidential campaign from cable news, making it the one constant in the media environment over the past four elections. By contrast, the decline continues in the number of people getting campaign information from local and network TV news, and local newspapers. Despite the rise in social media,sites like Facebook and Twitter are used by a relatively limited audience for campaign information.
Public's Priorities for 2012:
Deficit Rises, Terrorism Slips
23 January 2012 As the State of the Union approaches, more than eight-in-ten Americans say strengthening the economy and improving the job situation should be the top priorities. Although fewer Americans put reducing the federal budget deficit at the top of their lists, it is the fastest growing policy priority, largely because of growing concerns among Republicans. Fighting terrorism is given less priority today than over the course of the past decade.
Campaign 2012 in the Media:
The Storyline of the Race
18 January 2012 As South Carolinians prepare to vote, news coverage of front runner Mitt Romney is getting more negative while coverage of Ron Paul is getting better. With this report, the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism introduces an analysis that will continue throughout the election, "Campaign 2012 in the Media," which tracks the narrative in the press, the conversation on Twitter and data from elsewhere.
Mormons in America
Certain in Their Religious Beliefs,
Uncertain Of Their Place in Society
12 January 2012 A new national survey focused on Mormons finds a mixed picture about how they view their place in America. Many Mormons feel they are misunderstood, discriminated against and not accepted by other Americans. Yet, at the same time, a majority of Mormons think that acceptance of Mormonism is rising. They have highly positive views of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a fellow Mormon, and a majority think the country is ready to elect a Mormon president.
More Americans See Conflict Between Rich and Poor
11 January 2012 The Occupy Wall Street movement no longer occupies Wall Street, but the issue of class conflict has captured a growing share of the national consciousness. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that two-thirds of the public believes there are "very strong" or "strong" conflicts between the rich and the poor -- an increase of 19 percentage points since 2009.
Most Latinos Oppose Obama Policy on Deportations
28 December 11 Latinos disapprove by a margin of more than two-to-one of the way the Obama administration is handling deportations of unauthorized immigrants. Deportations have reached record levels under President Obama, higher than those of the Bush administration. However, the survey also reveals that heading into the 2012 presidential campaign, Obama and the Democratic Party continue to enjoy strong support from Latino registered voters, despite a decline in Obama's job approval rating.
Un-Mirrored Self-Images
Nine-in-ten U.S. adults say most of their fellow Americans are overweight. But only 39% say they themselves are overweight.
Upbeat Brazil
President Obama made his first Latin America stop in a country where self-confidence and hope runs high.
Does Google Make Us Stupid?
Most experts say the internet will enhance--not degrade--our intelligence. It will also change the way we read and write and be rebuilt by new gadgetry and applications.
Tiger Moms
Most Americans agree with Amy Chua that U.S. parents aren't tough enough, but most Asians think parents put too much pressure on children.
Life on Social Networking Sites:
Most Adults See It as Positive
9 February 2012 The overwhelming majority of adult users of social networking sites say that people are mostly kind in these spaces. This view is even more positive than the assessment offered by teen users. However, when bad behavior is encountered, adults are more likely than teens to stand back and ignore it.
Public Support Has Grown
For Allowing Same-Sex Marriage
7 February 2012 As courts and legislatures address the question of whether same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry, surveys conducted in recent years have shown that public support for gay marriage continues to grow.
• Slideshow: Ten Years of Changing Attitudes
Why Most Facebook Users Get More Than They Give on the Social Network
3 February 2012 The average Facebook user gets more attention from friends on Facebook than they give back when it comes to activities such as pressing the "like" button, trading messages or tagging people in photos. The main reason is a segment of "power users" who contribute much more than the typical user does.
GOP Holds Its Own or Grows
Among Every Major Religious Group
2 February 2012 The share of voters identifying with or leaning toward the GOP has either grown or held steady in every major religious group since 2008, according to an analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. This includes religious groups that are part of the GOP’s traditional constituency as well as some groups that tended to be more aligned with the Democratic Party, including Jewish voters.
Lower-Income Republicans Say Government Does Too Little for Poor
2 February 2012 Mitt Romney’s statement that he is focused solely on the problems of middle class Americans, not the poor, may not sit well with lower-income voters within his own party. Nearly six-in-ten lower-income Republican and Republican-leaning voters said the government does too little for poor people.
GOP Voters Continue to Give
Subpar Ratings to Presidential Field
30 January 2012 A majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning registered voters rate the field of GOP presidential contenders as only fair or poor, an increase in the number of those who held that view in early January. More voters say Barack Obama understands the problems of average Americans than they do about Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.
The Rise of In-Store Mobile Commerce
30 January 2012 Just over half of adult cell owners used their phone while they were in stores during the 2011 holiday shopping season to call friends for advice on a purchase, or to check product reviews and competitive prices.
It's About Fairness, Not Class Warfare
27 January 2012 Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut writes in the New York Times that while Americans are hearing more and more about class conflict, there is little indication that they are increasingly divided along rich-poor lines. Their concerns are about policies that give everyone a fair shot — a distinction that candidates in both parties should understand as they head into the 2012 campaigns.
Latinos Say They Have Fared Worst During the Economic Downturn
26 January 2012 A majority of Latinos believe that they have been the hardest hit of any other group in the U.S. by the economic downturn that began in 2007. Three-quarters of Latinos rate their personal finances as "only fair" or poor," and significant numbers have seen members of their households unemployed, canceled or delayed plans for major purchases and are underwater on their mortgages.
Latinos in the 2012 Election:
Voter Figures for Florida's Primary
23 January 2012 Final registration statistics for Florida's Jan. 31 presidential primary show almost 1.5 million Latinos are registered to vote statewide, making up 13.1% of the state's voters. There are 452,619 Latinos registered as Republicans, representing 11.1% of all Republican registered voters.
Tablet and E-Book Ownership
Nearly Doubled During the Holidays
23 January 2012 The share of adults who own tablet computers rose to 19% in early January, nearly doubling the 10% of adults who owned the device in mid-December as the holiday gift-giving period was about to begin. The number of owners of e-book readers jumped by the same amount. Overall, 29% of adults own at least one of these devices.
Obama: Weak Job Approval Ratings,
But Positive Personal Image
19 January 2012 Barack Obama begins his fourth year in office facing a struggling economy, an unhappy public, and a lower job approval rating than most of his recent predecessors at a comparable point in their presidencies. However, Obama possesses political strengths at the start of his reelection year, notably a positive personal image.
Public Sees This Year's Campaign
As Too Negative, Too Long, Dull
18 January 2012 Many Americans are highly critical of the 2012 presidential campaign, with half of the public saying it has been too negative and majorities describing it as too long and dull. While the number of those who say the campaign is too long is about the same as four years ago, significantly more Americans saw the 2008 presidential campaign as interesting and less believed it to be too negative.
Romney Holds Solid GOP Lead
But Is Unpopular Nationally
18 January 2012 Mitt Romney holds a substantial lead in the GOP presidential race, nearly doubling the support of his closest competitor. But among all voters, Romney's image is negative with a plurality expressing an unfavorable opinion of the former Massachusetts Governor.
Super PACs Having Negative Impact, Say Voters Aware of New Rules
17 January 2012 As campaign advertisements funded by Super PACs dominate the airwaves in the lead-up to the South Carolina primaries this Saturday, those voters who are aware of the 2010 Supreme Court decision that opened the door to this kind of spending overwhelmingly say the new campaign finance rules of had a negative effect.
Few GOP Voters Would Be Swayed
By Endorsements in Primaries
13 January 2012 Political endorsements by prominent Republicans would provide little help for GOP candidates in the primaries and might be more of a liability than a benefit in a general election campaign.
Many Voters Unaware of Basic Facts About the GOP Presidential Candidates
12 January 2012 Many voters do not know basic facts about the Republican candidates running for president or the early primary calendar. While a sizable majority knows that Newt Gingrich served as speaker of the House, only about half can identify Massachusetts as the state where Mitt Romney served as governor. Even among Republican voters, many don't know where Romney served as governor and are unfamiliar with Paul's stance on Afghanistan.
Real Time Charitable Giving:
Using Texts to Make Contributions
12 January 2012 Many Americans made use of the text messaging feature on their mobile phones to make contributions to disaster recovery efforts in Haiti after it was struck by a devastating earthquake in January 2010. The first in-depth study of mobile donors explores who the donors were and what motivated them to contribute.
Supreme Court Gives Wide Latitude
To Churches in Employment Decisions
11 January 2012 The Supreme Court issued a ruling in a significant church employment dispute, giving religious organizations wide latitude in hiring and firing clergy and other employees who perform religious duties. In its unanimous decision, the high court explicitly recognized a legal doctrine known as the “ministerial exception.”
Republican Voters Still Unenthused
About Their Presidential Field
9 January 2012 Republican voters continue to express mixed views of the party's presidential field. Roughly half (51%) of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters say the candidates are excellent or good, while 44% say they are only fair or poor. Mitt Romney holds a sizable lead in the race for the nomination while Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are tied for second.
U.S. Foreign-Born Population:
How Much Change From 2009 to 2010?
9 January 2012 A new Pew Hispanic Center analysis of Census Bureau data shows the foreign-born population in the U.S.-- 39.9 million in 2010 -- is 1.6% greater than it was in 2009, markedly lower than the reported increase of 4%. The new growth estimate stems from the Center's revisions to the 2009 Census data.
Majority of Americans Continue
To Favor the Death Penalty
4 January 2012 The percentage of Americans who back the death penalty has changed only modestly in recent years, but there continues to be far less support for it than there was in the mid-1990s. Among opponents of the death penalty, there has been a significant increase since 1991 in concern about wrongful convictions.
Little Change in Public's Response
To 'Capitalism' and 'Socialism'
28 December 2011 The recent Occupy Wall Street protests have focused public attention on what organizers see as the excesses of America’s free market system, but perceptions of capitalism – and even of socialism – have changed little since early 2010 despite the recent tumult.
New Media: Social Media Share a History Lesson
9 February 2012 The website Letters of Note received more than two million views of a letter written in 1865 by an emancipated slave living in Ohio, who was answering a request from his former owner to return to Tennessee and work on his farm. The letter prompted expressions of admiration for its poignancy and wit, questions about its authenticity and discussions of race and slavery.
New Media Extra: Twitter Still Negative on Komen
7 February 2012 The action by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation to reverse its decision and restore funding to Planned Parenthood did little to change the mix of the conversation on Twitter. After Komen changed its mind, following a deluge of criticism on Twitter, the reaction on the social media site was unchanged, with the same percentage of statements remaining negative.
News Interest: Election News Gets Most Attention
7 February 2012 The presidential campaign was the public's top story last week, as Republican candidates battled it out in the critical Florida primary. About a quarter of Americans followed the campaign coverage most closely, with the economy and the Super Bowl ranking second and third.
News Coverage: Big Turn Against Gingrich
6 February 2012 After he suffered losses in Florida and Nevada, Newt Gingrich began to see coverage of his campaign drop off markedly in the news media, after weeks in which he rivaled Mitt Romney for media exposure. The tone of news coverage also became decidedly more negative.
Updated 13 December 2011 Pew Research staff answers readers' queries. Newest question: Many people search for health or medical information online. How do those adults who don't use online to seek this information differ from those who do?
If you have a question, email info@pewresearch.org.
Family Trends Test
Compare your views on the changing structure of U.S. families with those of Americans generally. Are you an Accepter? Skeptic? Rejecter? on pewsocialtrends.org
Test Your Religion IQ
How much do you know about the world's major religions? And how do you score compared with the average American? Take our quiz and find out. on pewforum.org
Test Your News IQ
Take our latest quiz about prominent people and major events in the news. Then see how you did in comparison with 1,000 randomly sampled adults.
How Millennial Are You?
Take our quiz and we'll tell you how "Millennial" you are, on a scale from 0 to 100, by comparing your answers with those of respondents to a scientific nationwide survey.
The Media Tech Quiz
Test your knowledge of how the media cover technology. Which companies get the most press? What tech topics are trending on Twitter? on journalism.org
Check Your Science IQ
Take a 12-item quiz, a mix of contemporary knowledge and text-book style questions, to find out.
How Does Your Community Stack Up?
Rate your community as a place to live, then compare your responses to those from our national survey. on pewsocialtrends.org
Internet Typology: 
R U Mobile?
Users of communication technology range from "Digital Collaborators" and "Media Movers" to "Tech Indifferents" and "Off the Network." Take the quiz to find out which group you're in. on pewinternet.org
Couples Quiz
Who calls the shots in your home? Nowadays, it's often the woman who wears the pantsuit. Take our quiz to find out where you fit. on pewsocialtrends.org
Visit Interactive for other features.
Beyond Red vs. Blue
Analyze the 8 politically engaged 2011 Typology groups--from Staunch Conservatives to Solid Liberals--to compare their characteristics and positions on major issues.
Tracking Family Trends
Explore five decades of economic and demographic change in the structure of American families with an interactive database.
on pewsocialtrends.org
Mapping Mosque Controversies
An interactive map shows the locations -- with click-through details -- of 35 proposed mosques and Islamic centers that have encountered community resistance in the last two years. on pewforum.org
How Religious Is Your State?
Which of the 50 states has the most religious population? See how your state ranks on importance of religion in people's lives, attendance at worship services, frequency of prayer and certainty of belief in God. on pewforum.org
Marriage & Divorce: A 50-State Tour
Explore state-by-state marriage, divorce and remarriage patterns across the country to see how your state measures up. on pewsocialtrends.org
Who Owns the Media?
An interactive database of firms that own news properties in the U.S. lets you explore each media sector. Also, Year in the News answers questions about media coverage in 2010.
on journalism.org
Mapping Muslims Globally
Interactive maps show the size and distribution of the 1.57 billion worldwide Muslim population. on pewforum.org
Pew Global Attitudes Project
Key Indicators Database
Explore public opinion trends in 55 countries on topics ranging from attitudes toward the U.S. to views about globalization, democratization, an extremism. Results can be displayed in map, table or chart format. on pewglobal.org
Latinos by Geography
Interactive maps and data bases provide details about the changing Latino population in each of the nation's 50 states and 3,141 counties. on pewhispanic.org
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey
An extensive survey details the religious makeup, beliefs and practices of the American public. This online feature includes maps, graphs and charts. on pewforum.org