The following are some of the latest reports and other analyses from throughout 2024. Not every topic section is represented; some reports overlap topics.

Here are NewsBreaks’ other roundups of Pew Research Center’s research: October 2017 | March 2018 | October 2018 | March 2019 | October 2019 | March 2020 | December 2020 | June 2021 | December 2021 | July 2022 | March 2023 | September 2023 | January 2024

In September, Pew Research Center celebrated its 20th birthday, with writer/editor Jenn Hatfield sharing, “When The Pew Charitable Trusts created Pew Research Center in 2004, we were surveying Americans using the established industry method at the time: calling people on their landline phones and hoping they’d answer. As the Center marks its 20th anniversary this year, survey methods have become more diverse, and we now conduct most of our interviews online.” Hatfield notes that “[p]ublic opinion itself has also changed in major ways over the last 20 years, just as the country and world have.” These changes have developed alongside major shifts such as the proliferation of new technologies (the internet, smartphones, and social media), declining trust in national institutions, more diversity in the U.S. and throughout its government, China’s emergence as a perceived threat and possible enemy to the U.S., increasing numbers of religiously unaffiliated people, and extremely polarized views (on climate change, guns, and abortion).

Politics & Policy

On Sept. 5, Pew Research Center published “Support for a U.S. TikTok Ban Continues to Decline, and Half of Adults Doubt It Will Happen.” In March 2023, 50% of Americans supported the U.S. government banning TikTok; as of a survey conducted July 15–Aug. 4, only 32% do, and 28% of Americans outright oppose a ban, up from 22% in March 2023.

The Aug. 26 report, “The Political Values of Harris and Trump Supporters,” finds that “[s]ome of the widest gaps between Harris and Trump supporters are on issues that have divided Americans for decades, such as the role of guns in society, race and the legacy of slavery.” Also, “voters who back Harris and Trump have sharply different views on immigration, gender identity, and whether society should prioritize marriage and having children.”

“War in Ukraine: Wide Partisan Differences on U.S. Responsibility and Support” from July 29 shows partisan attitudes toward the U.S.’s policy toward Ukraine. “With the conflict in Ukraine now in its third year,” 62% of Republicans and Republican-leaners say the U.S. “does not have a responsibility to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s invasion,” while 63% of Democrats and Democrat-leaners “say the U.S. has this responsibility.”

International Affairs

The Aug. 26 short read, “Many Israelis Say Social Media Content About the Israel-Hamas War Should Be Censored,” states, “Most Israeli adults do not post or share about political and social issues online—including the war between Israel and Hamas,” and about “half of Israeli adults say certain kinds of social media posts related to the war should not be allowed, such as content that is graphic, incites violence or expresses support for Hamas.”

On Aug. 22, “How People in South Asia View Other South Asian Countries” explored “regional dynamics in South Asia. Since the 1947 Partition of British India, there have been historical, geopolitical and religious tensions in the region.” Pew Research Center explains, “We surveyed adults in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka but were unable to survey in Pakistan this year.” For India, 65% of Sri Lankans and 57% of Bangladeshis have a favorable view. For Sri Lanka, “Bangladeshis and Indians are about twice as likely to have favorable views of Sri Lanka as they are to have an unfavorable opinion.” And for views of Bangladesh, 47% of Sri Lankan adults and 35% of Indian adults have a favorable opinion. Adults in the surveyed countries have mixed views of Pakistan: 44% of Sri Lankans view the country favorably, 40% of Bangladeshis do, and only 12% of Indians do.

Immigration & Migration

“How Mexicans and Americans View Each Other and Their Governments’ Handling of the Border” from Aug. 12 states, “Mexicans hold generally positive views of the United States, while Americans hold generally negative views of Mexico—a reversal from 2017—according to Pew Research Center surveys conducted in both countries earlier this year.” As for border policy, 83% of Americans “say the U.S. government is doing a bad job dealing with migrants at the border,” and 52% of Mexicans feel the U.S. government is doing a bad job.

On July 22, “How the Origins of America’s Immigrants Have Changed Since 1850” analyzed immigrant populations by state and where they have settled over time and the factors that have influenced changes in immigration demographics. As of 2022, there were 46.1 million (both legal and illegal) immigrants from “virtually all countries” living in the U.S., which is 13.8% of the population.

The July 8 short read, “In Some Countries, Immigration Accounted for All Population Growth Between 2000 and 2020,” shares:

The global population ballooned by about 1.7 billion people between 2000 and 2020. But growth was uneven around the world and, in some places, immigration played a key role.

In 14 countries and territories, in fact, immigration accounted for more than 100% of population growth during this period, meaning that populations there would have declined if not for the arrival of new immigrants.

In 17 other countries, populations did decline between 2000 and 2020. But the decreases were smaller than they otherwise would have been due to growth in these countries’ immigrant populations.

Religion

“Many Around the Globe Say It’s Important Their Leader Stands Up for People’s Religious Beliefs” from Aug. 28, finds that in the U.S., “64% of adults say it is important to have a president who stands up for people who share the respondent’s religious beliefs. Fewer (48%) say it’s important that a president has their own strong religious beliefs, even if the beliefs differ from those of the respondent. And even fewer Americans (37%) say it is important for a president to have religious beliefs that are the same as the respondent’s.” Globally, people “are generally much more likely to say it is important to have someone who stands up for people with their religious beliefs than to say the leader needs to have strong religious beliefs of their own or to have the same beliefs as they do.”

Age & Generations

March 11’s report “How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time” analyzes U.S. teens’ (ages 13−17) and parents’ responses when asked about “a range of screen time-related topics. Our questions explored the emotions teens tie to their devices, the impact of smartphones on youth, and the challenges parents face when raising children in the digital age.” Key findings include: 44% of teens say they’re anxious when they don’t have their smartphone, 50% of parents say they have looked through their teen’s smartphone, and 46% of teens say their parent is sometimes distracted by their own phone when the teen is trying to talk to them.

“U.S. Centenarian Population Is Projected to Quadruple Over the Next 30 Years” from Jan. 9, shows that the number of Americans ages 100 and older will increase from an estimated 101,000 in 2024 to about 422,000 in 2054. In 1950, the Census Bureau estimated that there were about 2,300 Americans ages 100 and older, and in 1990, it estimated 37,000 Americans in this age group.

Gender & LGBTQ

The fact sheet from June 28, “Same-Sex Marriage Around the World,” provides a table of all of the places that allow same-sex marriage that can be sorted by name, region, and the year of legalization. Pew Research Center notes, “Since the first same-sex marriages were legally recognized in the Netherlands in 2001, more than 30 other jurisdictions—mostly in Europe and the Americas—have enacted laws allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. More recently, Taiwan became the first place in Asia to allow same-sex marriages.”

“Half of Latinas Say Hispanic Women’s Situation Has Improved in the Past Decade and Expect More Gains,” from May 15, reveals that Hispanic women in the U.S.—17% of all adult women in the U.S.—say they are better off than 10 years ago, but that 66% of Latinas (Hispanic and Latina are the terms used by Pew Research Center) say the gender pay gap and the pay gap between Hispanic women and white women are still big problems. However, compared to a decade ago, more Hispanic women are getting bachelor’s degrees, their median hourly wage has increased by 17%, and they have increased their rate of participation in the labor force.

Family & Relationships

The Aug. 15 short read is “A Growing Share of U.S. Husbands and Wives Are Roughly the Same Age.” Pew Research Center reports, “The typical age gap between husbands and wives in the United States has narrowed over the past 20 years, continuing a 20th-century trend. On average, husbands and wives were 2.2 years apart in age in 2022, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. This is down from 2.4 years in 2000 and 4.9 years in 1880.”

“The Experiences of U.S. Adults Who Don’t Have Children,” from July 25, looks at adults ages 50 and older who don’t have children and adults younger than 50 who don’t have children and say they are unlikely to have them. In the older group, 38% “say there was a time when they wanted to have children. A smaller but sizable share (32%) say they never wanted children, and 25% say they weren’t sure one way or the other.” In the younger group, 64% of women and 50% of men said they didn’t and probably wouldn’t have children because “they just don’t want to,” and “[l]arge shares in both groups say having a fulfilling life doesn’t have much to do with whether someone does or doesn’t have children.”

The May 8 short read, “Americans Are Less Likely Than Others Around the World to Feel Close to People in Their Country or Community,” showed that a median of 83% of adults in the 24 countries surveyed “feel very or somewhat close to other people in their country. A majority of U.S. adults (66%) also hold this view, but Americans are the least likely among those in the countries surveyed to do so.” When it comes to local communities in the U.S., “54% feel a connection to others near them, compared with a median of 78% of adults across all 24 countries. South Korea is the only country with a lower share of adults who feel connected with others in their community (50%).”

Science

“Majority of Americans Support More Nuclear Power in the Country” from Aug. 5 finds that 56% of U.S. adults are in favor of more nuclear power plants, but that more of them favor expanded solar power (at 78%) and wind power (at 72%). There’s a partisan divide: two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaners and about half of Democrats and Democrat-leaners support nuclear power. Pew Research Center points out, “The partisan gap in support for nuclear power (18 points) is smaller than those for other types of energy, including fossil fuel sources such as coal mining (48 points) and offshore oil and gas drilling (47 points).”

On June 27, “About 3 in 10 Americans Would Seriously Consider Buying an Electric Vehicle” showed that the percentage of Americans who “would very or somewhat seriously consider purchasing an electric vehicle” has declined in the past year. “Amid this softening interest, we asked Americans about factors that could influence their choice of electric versus gas-powered vehicles: environmental benefits, cost, driving experience and reliability,” Pew Research Center explains. “We also looked at how confident Americans are that there will be enough EV charging stations and infrastructure to meet demand.”

“Who Do Americans Feel Comfortable Talking to About Their Mental Health?” from May 2 notes that 57% of Americans are extremely or very comfortable discussing their mental health with a close friend, 52% feel that way about an immediate family member, and 50% feel that way about a therapist. “About three-in-ten U.S. adults (31%) say they would be only somewhat comfortable talking with a close friend about their mental health, and an additional 12% would be not too or not at all comfortable with this. Similar shares say this about discussing mental health with an immediate family member or a therapist,” Pew Research Center reports.

Internet & Technology

On June 12, Pew Research Center published the results of a fall 2023 survey, “72% of U.S. High School Teachers Say Cellphone Distraction Is a Major Problem in the Classroom.” The breakdown by grade level shows that 72% of high school teachers, 33% of middle school teachers, and 6% of elementary school teachers see students being distracted by phones as a major problem in the classroom. Policies are seen as difficult to enforce by 60% of high school teachers, 30% of middle school teachers, and 12% of elementary school teachers.