Pew Research Center Archives

Most phones have built-in digital detox features that actually work

08/08/202208/05/2022 Jorge Gonzalez

Even simply using a phone in grayscale mode helps to make the experience less appealing overall. Taking a digital detox is becoming an increasingly popular activity as smartphones are proving to be too attractive for us to put down for more than short spans at a time. From social media to videos and falling down research rabbit holes, hours can easily be lost daily. A 2021 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center determined that more than 30 percent of adults in the United States reported that they were online…

Are Ebooks Worth It? Does Anyone Actually Read Them?

01/09/202201/10/2022 L. Green

From the least to the most popular books on Amazon, are people reading the digital copies? For a long time, readers, authors and publishers alike were asking “are ebooks worth it?”. That time is well behind us as digital books have taken off in the last handful of years. The advantages of ebooks simply cannot be ignored, and they are a staple for any book release. A recent Pew Research Center survey on book formats and consumption showed that while traditional print (comprised primarily by paperback and hardcovers) remains the…

Study finds most Americans can’t distinguish between social media bots and real humans

10/16/201810/15/2018 Jennifer Goula

Social Media Bot - Social Medai Platforms

Pew Research Center finds the majority of Americans believe these bots are used maliciously. A new study from the nonpartisan American fact tank has revealed that most Americans are not familiar with social media bots. Of the 4,500 adult Americans surveyed by Pew, while two thirds had at least heard of these bots, 34% said they were not aware of their existence. That being said, of those who had heard of the bots, 80% believe the accounts are used for nefarious purposes. The study gives insight into what the average…

Mobile apps boost online dating numbers

02/19/201602/18/2016 Julie Campbell

There are now more young adults who date online than ever before because of smartphone applications. According to the results of a recent study, there has been an increase greater than 15 percent in the number of people using mobile apps for dating, within the young adult age group between 18 and 24 years old. The study was conducted by Pew Research Center researchers, who were investigating online dating trends. The researchers were seeking to better understand the trends in the usage of online dating. What they concluded was that…

The Time to Take Mobile Security Seriously is Now

08/02/201408/01/2014 Note From The Editor

With mobile technology beginning to play such an important role in people’s lives, security is not longer a thing that can be ignored. Mobile commerce is here to stay and that means that more people will be using their devices to pay for goods and services. This also means that financial information will be trafficked through the digital space more frequently than it already is. Unfortunately, many platforms simple do not have the security measures in place to protect everyone’s financial information. The burden of security also cannot reliably be…