According to a recent Pew Research Center study, less than half (41%) of U.S. adults believe keeping up with the news is either “extremely” or “very important” for being a good member of society. In contrast, 76% of respondents say voting is at least very important for societal contributions.
The study also measured views on the importance of keeping up with the news for informing voting decisions; an overwhelming 80% of respondents said it is important for voters to be informed about the news when they vote. Nevertheless, 52% report being overwhelmed by the volume of news they encounter. Additionally, almost half (48%) believe that most of the news they encounter is not relevant to their lives.
Regarding specific news habits, U.S. adults also have mixed feelings. Fewer than half (47%) believe it is important to receive news regularly. More than two-thirds (64%) consider it important to receive news from various sources.
An overwhelming majority (85%) say it is important not to share inaccurate information about the news, yet their trust in others’ ability to verify a news story’s accuracy is low. Only one-quarter (25%) are at least somewhat confident that other people would know what steps to take to test the accuracy of a news story. Yet more than three-fourths (79%) trust themselves to do the same.
More information on the Pew study, including a link to the survey’s methodology and topline results, can be found here.
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Senior Editor at Good Faith Media.