WebProNews

Tag: Pew Research

  • Majority Of Americans Don’t Like What The NSA Is Doing

    Since June of last year, Americans have learned more and more about the secret practices employed by the NSA due to leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. During that time, countless polls have been conducted as a way to see how Americans feel about the NSA’s spy tactics. While a large number of Americans don’t like what the agency is doing, a majority haven’t felt that way until now.

    The Pew Research Center and USA Today conducted a survey of 1,504 American adults and found that 53 percent disapprove of the NSA’s “collection of telephone and Internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts” while only 40 percent of Americans approve of the agency’s programs. The new numbers are a major shift from the 50 percent that approved of the programs when they were first leaked back in June.

    1-20-14 NSA Web Graphic

    As for the current limits on what data the NSA can collect, 48 percent of Americans feel they are not adequate while 41 percent feel they are. When looking at political parties, 39 percent of Republicans, 38 percent of Independents and 48 percent of Democrats feel that the limits are adequate.

    Perhaps the most depressing statistic from this latest poll is the number of people aware of President Obama’s speech on Friday in which he detailed his plans to reform the NSA. The poll found that 50 percent of Americans had not heard anything about the proposed reforms while 49 percent heard a little or a lot.

    1-20-2014 NSA #1

    Those that did hear about the proposed changes aren’t all that confident they will lead to any significant reform though. Out of those who know about the proposed reforms, only 21 percent feel they will increase privacy protections while a whopping 73 percent feel they won’t make much of a difference.

    When it comes to Edward Snowden, Americans are split pretty much right down the middle. The poll found that 45 percent of Americans believe Snowden served the public interest with the leaks while 43 percent believe he harmed the public interest. Interestingly enough, the number of people who believe he served the public interest increases with the amount of education the person has received. Those with some college under their belt support Snowden the most with 51 percent believing his actions served the public interest while 38 percent of those who have only graduated high school believe he served the public interest.

    1-20-2014 NSA #5

    So, how has this all affected Obama’s job performance ratings? Surprisingly, there hasn’t been much of a change from last month with 49 percent of Americans disapproving of his performance while 43 percent approve. The last time there’s been a major change in approval rating was in November when 53 percent of Americans disapproved of Obama’s job performance while 41 percent approved.

    1-20-2014 NSA #7

    Image via ThinkStock

  • Teens Are Increasingly Turning To Smartphones For Their Internet Fix

    Kids these days take the Internet for granted. When I was their age, I had to wait my turn to use the family desktop in the kitchen. Even then, it was on a painfully slow 56k dial-up connection. The accelerated spread of smartphone use among teenagers will ensure that they never have to experience true hardship like I did.

    The Pew Research Center released a new study today that found smartphone use increased among teenagers aged 12-17 by over 10 percent last year. One in four teens are also abandoning traditional Web browsing on computers in favor of browsing the Internet via their smartphone.

    “The nature of teens’ internet use has transformed dramatically — from stationary connections tied to shared desktops in the home to always-on connections that move with them throughout the day,” said Mary Madden, Senior Researcher for the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project and co-author of the report. “In many ways, teens represent the leading edge of mobile connectivity, and the patterns of their technology use often signal future changes in the adult population.”

    To get a full sense of how connected teenagers are today, take a look at the numbers:

  • 78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of them own smartphones. That translates into 37% of all teens who have smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011.
  • 23% of teens have a tablet computer, a level comparable to the general adult population.
  • 95% of teens use the internet.
  • 93% of teens have a computer or have access to one at home. Seven in ten (71%) teens with home computer access say the laptop or desktop they use most often is one they share with other family members.

    • No wonder teens are using smartphones as their primary Internet access device. Sharing a computer with the rest of the family is a sure fire way to get caught browsing questionable Web sites.

    Check out the rest of the study here.

  • 22% of U.S. Adults Own a Tablet Device

    The iPad ushered in the new age of tablet computing in the spring of 2010. In the two-and-a-half years since, the market for tablets has exploded, as if people were just waiting for such a device to offered. There are currently no signs that this trend is going to slow.

    In fact, the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism today released new statistics showing that 22% of U.S. adults own a tablet device, up from 11% in July 2011. Of course, back in 2011, Apple’s iPad was still almost the only game in town. Pew’s numbers show that the iPad represented 81% of the tablet market in 2011, with Android tablets making up only 15% of the rest.

    This year, the full effects of Amazon’s Kindle Fire and the rise of the 7-inch tablet market can be seen. The iPad now only makes up 52% of the tablet market, while Android devices make up the other 48%. Kindle Fires (which run on a version of the Android operating system) make up 21% of the market alone. Pew states that 68% of tablet-owning adults purchased their tablet in the past year.

    It’s clear that as enthusiastic as consumers were for the iPad, many were waiting on a lower-priced tablet. Apple will attempt to enter (and will likely dominate) the 7-inch tablet market later this year with the iPad Mini. It will face more competition than it ever has, though. Amazon recently announced its updated Kindle Fire lineup, and Google is rumored to be launching a $99 tablet before the end of the year.

    Even in the 10-inch tablet market Apple will be facing new competition. With the release of Microsoft’s new hybrid tablet/desktop Windows 8 operating system, manufacturers such as Samsung and HP have announced tablet devices for every niche, including enterprise.

  • Twitter Daily Use Surges to 8%, up from 2% in 2010 [Pew Internet Study]

    Pew Internet Research just released the findings of their study on Twitter, and how people are assimilating the social platform into their lives.

    Looking back at 2011, then at February of this year, Twitter’s adoption numbers remain similar, with 13% in 2011 and 15% this year. What has changed is the number of people who have decided to make Twitter part of their daily routine.

    In May 2010, only 2% of online adults claimed they used Twitter on a daily basis. By May 2011, that number doubled to 4%, and as of February this year, daily Twitter use reached 8%. Pew Internet Research believes the rise of the smartphone may play a crucial role in the change.

    Take a look at Pew’s chart illustrating Twitter usage over time:

    pew internet graph

    Who Uses Twitter?:

    pew internet demographic twitter

    Who uses Twitter on a cellphone?:

    pew cellphone twitter

  • How The Public Views Personalized Search Engines

    Google has been in the news a lot lately for their new privacy policy. They claim that their new method for collecting and using data will make our experience with their search engine better, but many of us are concerned about how our information will be exploited. Pew Internet Research has just released the results of a 2012 poll aimed at getting our perceptions on search engines. The results are based on responses from telephone interviews with over 2500 adult internet users living in the United States from a variety of different demographics.

    Essentially the survey hoped to uncover their perceptions about the quality of search engine performance and their feelings about how data could be collected and used to alter the way the services delivered content. I don’t think the outcome is shocking, but if the online privacy debate has been on your mind, you will find it interesting.

    Pew Research collection of data on privacy:

    65% agreed to the following statement:
    “It’s a BAD thing if a search engine collected information about your searches and then used it to rank your future search results, because it may limit the information you get online and what search results you see”

    29% agreed with the following statement:
    “It’s a GOOD thing if a search engine collected information about your searches and then used it to rank your future search results, because it gives you results that are more relevant to you”

    73% agreed with the following statement:
    “NOT BE OKAY with a search engine keeping track of your searches and using that information to personalize your future search results because you feel it is an invasion of privacy”

    23% agreed with the following statement:
    “Be OKAY with a search engine keeping track of your searches and using that information to personalize your future search results, even if it means they are gathering information about you”

    I think it’s pretty clear that a majority of people feel that personalized results somehow censor the content and could result in biased feedback from their searches. It’s also apparent that using personalized data is considered and invasion of privacy by a majority of respondents in the study. However I think it is also key to point out that a significant percentage welcomes the idea of having more relevant search results, and that a similar percentage found data collection to be acceptable for this purpose.

    68% of respondents agreed with this statement:
    “I’m NOT OKAY with targeted advertising because I don’t like having my online behavior tracked and analyzed”

    28% of respondents agreed with this statement:
    “I’m OKAY with targeted advertising because it means I see advertisements and get information about things I’m really interested in”

    Pew Research collection of data on Search Engine satisfaction:

    * 91% of search engine users say they always or most of the time find the information they are seeking when they use search engines

    * 73% of search engine users say that most or all the information they find as they use search engines is accurate and trustworthy

    * 66% of search engine users say search engines are a fair and unbiased source of information

    * 55% of search engine users say that, in their experience, the quality of search results is getting better over time, while just 4% say it has gotten worse

    * 52% of search engine users say search engine results have gotten more relevant and useful over time, while just 7% report that results have gotten less relevant

    So people seem to have an overwhelmingly positive outlook on the accuracy and reliablity of their search engines. I don’t know how fair this question is, but I guess it really gets at confidence rather than having an actual comparison basis. Pew also dug a little deeper and asked users about the outcomes of their searches.

    Findings for quality of experience with Search Engines:

    86% of users agreed to this statement:
    “Learned something new or important that really helped them or increased their knowledge.”

    50% of users agreed to this statement:
    “Found a really obscure fact or piece of information they thought they would not be able to find.”

    41% of users agreed to this statement:
    “Have gotten conflicting information in search results and not been able to figure out what is correct.”

    38% of users agreed to this statement:
    “Have gotten so much information in a set of results that you feel overwhelmed.”

    34% of users agreed to this statement:
    “Found that critical information is missing from search results.”

    So there you have it- people are overwhelmingly happy with the quality of their search engines and not so keen on the idea of having their data collected. Not surprising, but very interesting. It is also of interest to note that Google was the most widely used search engine by a great margin. follow the link to the original study to learn more.

  • Smartphones Continue To Grow In Popularity

    It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that smartphones continue to grow in popularity. A new study by Pew research reveals the ownership trends in different demographics.

    Overall American ownership of smartphones stands at 46%. Interestingly, this number is larger than the number of adults who own cell phones that aren’t smart phones, which is currently at only 41%.

    Men who own smartphones grew from 39 to 49%, a huge gain, while women grew usage at an incredible rate, from 31 up to 44%. Very impressive! However another large increase comes from the poorest group in the survey. People who made less than $30,000 per year made the jump from 22% all the way up to 34%. and along the same vain, rural smartphone usage grew from 21 to 34%.

    Here’s the facts about what operating system these phones are function under from Pew Research:

    * Android devices are used by 20% of cell owners, up from 15% in May 2011

    * iPhones are used by 19% of cell owners, up from 10% in May 2011

    * Blackberries are used by 6% of cell owners, down from 10% in May 2011

    So there you have it, smartphones continue to grow in popularity despite a sluggish economy. I know these findings aren’t surprising, but it is still interesting to see how much more accessible the web has become. It isn’t enough to just have access at home, we can have it almost anywhere now. Studies already suggest that tablets may take over home computers in popularity and really, if you don’t do word processing at home, what do you need a PC for?