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Sunday, October 29th, 2023

Americans are following the news less closely than they used to

Author:     NAOMI FORMAN-KATZ
Source:     Pew Research Center
Publication Date:     OCTOBER 24, 2023
 Link: Americans are following the news less closely than they used to
Stephan:  

Americans as a whole are very poorly informed about how their government operates. The figures are breathtaking. The Annenberg Public Policy Center extensively polled the population and discovered a third of the country can’t name a single branch of government, 21 percent can only name one branch, and only 13 percent can name all three. Most Americans now get their knowledge of the news from social media, and a high percentage of people believe all kinds of conspiracy nonsense. And now Pew Research Center reports a declining percentage even pay attention to the news. I think the truth is we don’t deserve to live in a democracy because we make little or no effort to understand how a democracy works, and we mostly vote our fears and resentments with little or no understanding of who we are voting for.

A line chart showing that attention to news in the U.S. has declined across age groups in recent years.

Americans are following the news less closely than they were a few years ago, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. This comes amid changes in news consumption habits, declining trust in the media and high levels of news fatigue.

In 2016, 51% of U.S. adults said they followed the news all or most of the time. But that share fell to 38% in 2022, the most recent time we asked this question.

In turn, a rising share of Americans say they follow the news only now and then. While 12% of adults said this in 2016, that figure increased to 19% by 2022. And while 5% of adults said in 2016 that they hardly ever follow the news, 9% said the same last year.

Older adults are more likely to say they follow the news all or most of the time, while younger adults are less likely. However, Americans in all age groups have become less likely to say they follow the news all or most of the time since 2016.

For example, 46% of adults ages 30 […]

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2 Comments

  1. Albus Eddie on Monday, October 30, 2023 at 5:27 am

    This trend is a result of the increasing lack of responsiveness of the government to the wishes of the governed. Why pay attention to events outside your immediate circle when the lessons that you have learned are that your actions are unable to effect them? This disconnect has profound consequences.

  2. Bethany on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at 2:35 pm

    Well, I used to watch news and try to stay up to date. I read your newsletter and it makes me feel helpless. I can’t do anything but watch the world burn.
    I feel like the only thing I can do is enjoy the little time left with as little pain as possible.