New Delhi: How informed are Americans about the topics that concern them? A majority of them agree that it’s extremely or very important for people to be informed about topics like the healthcare system, tax policies, voting and election processes, and social security — and yet they aren’t highly informed themselves.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in March found that fewer Americans feel highly informed about issues they believe to be extremely or very important. For instance, 82 per cent of the 1,031 surveyed US adults said they believe it is extremely or very important for individuals to be informed about the healthcare system. Yet, only 34 per cent said they were extremely or very informed themselves.
Similarly, 75 per cent of the surveyed adults said it was extremely or very important for average Americans to be informed about economic and tax policies. But when asked if they themselves were highly informed, only 24 per cent agreed; 51 per cent said they were somewhat informed, while another 24 per cent said they were not too informed or weren’t informed at all.
Moreover, 80 per cent said it was important to understand what the president can and cannot do, but only 36 per cent considered themselves extremely or very informed about it.
On the topic of marijuana regulation, while 31 per cent said it’s extremely or very important to be informed, 23 per cent said they were highly informed themselves.
The gap was also visible on issues such as immigration and citizenship policies, where 76 per cent said staying informed was important, while only 39 per cent said they were highly informed. On US foreign policy, 71 per cent said it was important to remain informed, but just 23 per cent felt highly informed about the topic. The widest disparity was recorded on federal regulation of technology and media companies. While 52 per cent considered it important to stay informed about the issue, only 15 per cent said they were highly informed.
The Pew survey found this trend to be more stark among younger Americans than older ones.
“Older adults are more likely than younger Americans to say it’s important for people to stay informed about several topics – and to feel informed on these topics themselves,” the report said.
According to Pew, this aligns with previous research showing that older Americans are more likely to consume news regularly and regard following current affairs as a civic responsibility.
Democrats vs Republicans
In terms of political affiliation, both Democrats and Republicans showed similar patterns. However, on the topic of ‘what the president can and cannot do’, more Democrats and Democratic-leaning Americans said it was extremely or very important to stay informed than Republicans and Republican-leaning Americans — 88 per cent compared with 74 per cent. On the topic of ‘child vaccine policies’, the figures were 73 per cent and 65 per cent, respectively.
However, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say they personally felt highly informed about certain issues. Fifty-four per cent of Republicans said they were highly informed about voting and election processes, compared with 46 per cent of Democrats. Similar gaps were recorded on immigration policies (44 per cent vs 35 per cent) and gun regulation (39 per cent vs 26 per cent).
The Pew survey also asked where Americans get information on these topics. It found that people rely on a mix of sources depending on the topic.
News organisations were the most commonly cited source for topics such as US foreign policy (51 per cent) and immigration and citizenship policies (46 per cent), while government sources played a significant role in helping Americans find information on issues like social security (31 per cent) and voting procedures (21 per cent). Younger Americans, meanwhile, were more likely than older adults to rely on social media for information.
Crucially, while ‘school or formal education’ was not a major source of information in most categories, it was the top source for 18 per cent of Americans who said they learn about ‘what the president can and cannot do’ through it.