Pew Internet

Pew Research Center's Internet, Science and Technology research explores the social impact of digital technologies and studies scientific research and innovation. Visit us at pewinternet.org

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Whether searching for “the one” or “the right now,” Americans are turning to the internet to help them find companionship, commitment or casual encounters. According to our survey conducted in July of 2022, 30% of U.S. adults say they have ever used a dating site or app.

Tinder is the most widely used dating site or app among the list of eight measured in our survey, with 46% of Americans who have ever used a dating site or app saying they have used it (this represents 14% of all U.S. adults).

In terms of online dating users' experience on these platforms, 53% say overall, their personal experiences with dating sites or apps have been at least somewhat positive. 46% say they have been at least somewhat negative.

Read more: From Looking for Love to Swiping the Field: Online Dating in the U.S.

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While most of the 19 countries surveyed believe social media has had a positive impact on democracy, there are substantial cross-national differences on this question and the United States is a clear outlier.

Just 34% of U.S. adults think social media has been good for democracy, while 64% say it has had a bad impact. In fact, the U.S. is an outlier on a number of measures, with larger shares of Americans seeing social media as divisive.

Read more: Social Media Seen as Mostly Good for Democracy Across Many Nations, But U.S. is a Major Outlier

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While bullying existed long before the internet, the rise of smartphones and social media has brought a new and more public arena into play for this aggressive behavior. 46% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 report ever experiencing at least one of six cyberbullying behaviors we asked about in our survey conducted April 14 - May 4, 2022.

Of the six cyberbullying behaviors we asked about, the most commonly reported behavior teens say they’ve experienced is name-calling, with 32% saying they have been called an offensive name online or on their cellphone.

Read more: Teens and Cyberbullying 2022

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Society has long fretted about technology’s impact on youth. But unlike radio and television, the hyperconnected nature of social media has led to new anxieties, including worries that these platforms may be negatively impacting teenagers’ mental health.

Despite these concerns, teens themselves paint a more nuanced picture of adolescent life on social media. It is one in which majorities credit these platforms with deepening connections and providing a support network when they need it, while smaller – though notable – shares acknowledge the drama and pressures that can come along with using social media, according to a survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted April 14 to May 4, 2022.

Eight-in-ten teens say that what they see on social media makes them feel more connected to what’s going on in their friends’ lives, while 71% say it makes them feel like they have a place where they can show their creative side. And 67% say these platforms make them feel as if they have people who can support them through tough times. A smaller share – though still a majority – say the same for feeling more accepted.

Read more: Connection, Creativity and Drama: Teen Life on Social Media in 2022

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The turmoil in cryptocurrency markets has taken a toll on investments. Among the 16% of U.S. adults who say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or ether, 46% report their investments have done worse than they expected.

By comparison, 15% of these Americans say their investments have done better than they expected, 31% say they have worked out about the same as they expected and another 8% say they are not sure.

Read more: 46% of Americans who have invested in cryptocurrency say it’s done worse than expected

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Our survey of American teenagers ages 13 to 17 finds TikTok has rocketed in popularity since its North American debut several years ago. 67% of teens in the U.S. say they ever use TikTok, with 16% of all teens saying they use it almost constantly.

At the same time as TikTok has risen, the share of teens using Facebook, a dominant social media platform in our 2014-15 teens survey, has plummeted from 71% then to 32% today.

Read more: Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022

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Women in the United States are more skeptical than men about some uses of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the possible widespread use of driverless passenger vehicles, according to a new analysis of survey data collected in November 2021.

Across a range of possible AI applications that the survey asked about, women are consistently more likely than men to express concern about computer programs executing those tasks. For example, 43% of women say they would be very or somewhat concerned if AI programs could diagnose medical problems, while 27% of men say the same. Gender gaps also appear in the amount of concern Americans express about AI programs being able to perform repetitive workplace tasks, make important life decisions for people and know people’s thoughts and behaviors.

Read more: U.S. women more concerned than men about some AI developments, especially driverless cars

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Black Americans are broadly critical of several key aspects of policing and the criminal justice system in the United States. But their views on an emerging tool in U.S. law enforcement – the use of face recognition technology – are more nuanced, according to a survey conducted in November 2021.

Black Americans are less likely than White or Hispanic Americans to believe that the widespread use of facial recognition technology will make policing fairer. Only 22% of Black adults say it will make policing fairer, while 29% say it will make policing less fair and about half say it will make no difference. Hispanic and White Americans are more likely than Black Americans to say the widespread use of this technology will make policing fairer (40% and 36% say this, respectively).

Read more: How Black Americans view the use of face recognition technology by police

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Overall, 44% of Americans think major technology companies should be regulated more than they are now, down from 56% in April 2021. Conversely, the share of Americans who say they want less government regulation of major technology companies has roughly doubled, from about one-in-ten (9%) in previous years to one-in-five today.

These changes are particularly pronounced among Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party, especially those who identify as conservative.

Read more: Support for more regulation of tech companies has declined in U.S., especially among Republicans

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Whether a result of the pandemic or simply of other events or changes in a child’s life, the year following our first survey in March 2020 saw a rising share of parents who said their young child had used digital devices and social media.

In April 2021, about eight-in-ten parents of a child who was age 11 or younger at the time of the first interview said their kid ever used or interacted with a tablet computer – even if just to watch videos or listen to music – up from 68% in March 2020. About seven-in-ten said the same thing about their kid’s use of a smartphone, up from 63% the year before. And 51% of parents with a young child said their child used a game console or portable game device in 2021, up slightly from 2020.

Read more: How parents’ views of their kids’ screen time, social media use changed during COVID-19

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Nontraditional, short-term and contract work existed prior to the internet and smartphones, but the gig economy has ushered in a new way of connecting people with consumers and those who want to hire them.

Gig jobs are often billed as a good way to generate more income and control when and how much you work. These sentiments are similarly expressed by gig workers in our new survey. When asked why they are drawn to these jobs, gig workers are especially likely to cite financial reasons as key factors – either for saving up or covering fluctuations in income. Among current or recent gig workers, about half or more cite wanting to save up extra money (56%) or needing to cover gaps or changes in their income (52%) as major reasons for taking on these jobs over the past 12 months.

Read more: The State of Gig Work in 2021

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The vast majority of U.S. adults have heard at least a little about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether, and 16% say they personally have invested in, traded or otherwise used one, according to a new survey. Men ages 18 to 29 are particularly likely to say they have used cryptocurrencies.

Overall, 86% of Americans say they have heard at least a little about cryptocurrencies, including 24% who say they have heard a lot about them, according to the survey of U.S. adults, conducted Sept. 13-19, 2021. Some 13% say they have heard nothing at all.

Read more: 16% of Americans say they have ever invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency

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As social media and technology companies face criticism for not doing enough to stem the flow of misleading information on their platforms, a sizable portion of Americans continue to turn to these sites for news. Today, 48% of Americans say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” a 5 percentage point decline compared with 2020.

Read more: News Consumption Across Social Media in 2021

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More than 40 million people in the United States have a disability, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But even as majorities of these Americans report having certain technologies, the digital divide between those who have a disability and those who do not remains for some devices.

Some 62% of adults with a disability say they own a desktop or laptop computer, compared with 81% of those without a disability, according to a survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021. And when it comes to smartphone ownership, there is a gap of 16 percentage points between those with a disability and those without one (72% vs. 88%).

Read more: Americans with disabilities less likely than those without to own some digital devices

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A survey finds that the vast majority of adults (90%) say the internet has been essential or important to them during the pandemic. Many made video calls to stay connected with loved ones and 40% used technology in new ways. But while technology was a lifeline for some, others faced struggles such as "Zoom fatigue" and worries about paying the bill for at home internet connection.

Read more: The Internet and the Pandemic

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Americans have long debated the boundaries of free speech, from what is and isn’t protected by the First Amendment to discussions about “political correctness” and, more recently, “cancel culture.” The internet has amplified these debates and fostered new questions about tone and tenor in recent years.

In a September 2020 survey, 44% of Americans said they’d heard at least a fair amount about the phrase “cancel culture,” including 22% who had heard a great deal about it. A majority of Americans (56%) said they’d heard nothing or not too much about it, including 38% – the largest share – who had heard nothing at all about the phrase.

Read more: How Americans feel about ‘cancel culture’ and offensive speech in 6 charts

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Amid rising concerns over misinformation online – including surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, especially vaccines – Americans are now a bit more open to the idea of the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online. And a majority of the public continues to favor technology companies taking such action, according to a new survey.

Roughly half of U.S. adults (48%) now say the government should take steps to restrict false information, even if it means losing some freedom to access and publish content, according to the survey of 11,178 adults conducted July 26-Aug. 8, 2021. That is up from 39% in 2018. At the same time, the share of adults who say freedom of information should be protected – even if it means some misinformation is published online – has decreased from 58% to 50%.

Read more: More Americans now say government should take steps to restrict false information online than in 2018