FEBRUARY 2019

MILLENNIALS, SOCIAL
MEDIA, AND POLITICS
The vast majority of Millennials, (86%), use social media daily, making
them the “always on” generation. This fact has implications for many
aspects of their lives including their social connections, consumption ofnews and entertainment, informal learning, and engagement in civic life.
While White and Latino Millennials use social media to navigate life, a
key and consistent finding throughout our data is that Black Millennials
use social media more frequently and for a wider variety of activities.

BY Victoria Rideout and S. Craig Watkins

FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES
S. Craig Watkins
Founding Director, Institute for Media Innovation
The University of Texas at Austin
craig.watkins@austin.utexas.edu
Victoria Rideout
CEO, VJR Consulting
vjrideout@vjrconsulting.com

RECOMMENDED CITATION:
Rideout, Victoria and S. Craig Watkins. 2018. Millennials, Social Media, and Politics. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Media Innovation.

CONTENTS

3
5
11
16
21
28
32
51
56
59

Introduction
Key Findings
Connectivity
Political Efficacy And Involvement
Social Media Use
News Sources
Social and Political Content In Social Media
Conclusion
Methodology
Toplines

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONINTRODUCTION
Social media use among young adults today – known as the Millennial generation – is bothcommon and constant, truly making them the “always on” generation. This fact has implications for many aspects of their lives, including their social connections, consumption of newsand entertainment, informal learning, civic life, and even how they navigate their employment and economic aspirations.
In this report we present the findings of a nationally-representative survey of more than
1,000 18- to 30-year-olds, focusing on one key aspect of Millennials’ social media behaviors:
their involvement in civic life. By some measures, young people have not expressed a highlevel of political engagement compared to their older counterparts. For example, comparedto older citizens, young people are less likely to vote, consume the news, or maintain a groupmembership1. As a result, many critics charge that Millennials are disengaged with civic life,
thus undermining the nation’s civic health and sense of community. Among the many factors
cited for Milllennials’ lack of political engagement—such as narcissm and apathy—none may
be more frequently recognized than their adoption of social media.
According to our findings, almost all (95%) Millennials use social media, and the vast majority (86%) do so on a daily basis. This “always on” feature is frequently referenced to support
the view that Millennials are insufficiently engaged with others, sparking social isolation or
only casual and passive engagement in civic life3. According to critics, Millennials are toobusy Instagramming, tweeting, and “snapping” to care about the world around them. However, the view that social media limits the involvement of Millennials in civic life obscures amuch more likely development: Rather than diminish their involvement in civic life, theadoption of social media among Millennials may be leading to the remaking of civic life. In
other words, legacy expressions of civic engagement—writing to the editor, attending a town
hall meeting—appear to be giving way to emergent expressions—donating to a cause online,
organizing a political movement via social media, or circulating a social issues video.

Levine, Peter. 2007. The Future of Democracy: Developing the Next Generation of American Citizens. London: University Press of New
England, pp: 77-83.

1

Turkle, Sherry. 2011. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York, NY: Basic Books.

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONThis report explores the implications of constant connectivity in the political identities andpractices of Millennials. As social media has become a routine part of everyday life, we examine how it may be enabling distinct modes of political engagement among Millennials. Specifically, we explore:• The degree to which Millennials turn to social media for news and information about
current events;• How often Millennials encounter or post content about social or political issues in social
media;• How they respond to politically-related social media content;• How many have taken specific political actions through social media or other online
venues, such as joining political groups or donating to candidates;• How their behaviors and attitudes about social and political content in social media varyby age, gender, socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, and political ideology; and• How their online actions relate to their offline political actions and their sense of political
efficacy.

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1. KEY FINDINGS
1. The Internet and social media are a nearly universal part ofMillennials’ lives.
Almost all Millennials are connected, mostly through mobile devices, and more than eight inten are using social media on a daily basis. Facebook still dominates, but a majority also use
Instagram and Snapchat. Millennials of color are more likely to use sites other thanFacebook.
 95% of Millennials use social media, including
86% who do so every day In fact, more than half (53%) do so “manytimes” each day A third (33%) of millennials post or sharesomething on social media every day; a total of
57% do so at least weekly“ Almost all Millennials areconnected, mostly throughmobile devices, and morethan eight in ten are usingsocial media on a daily
basis. ”

 Despite the widespread view that young people trend away from Facebook use, theplatform is the top social media site among Millennials
More than eight in ten (83%) use Facebook, including 52% who say it is the social
network they use “most often”
 Instagram and Snapchat are also used by a majority of Millennials
61% use Instagram and 56% use Snapchat
But only 13% choose each of those sites as the one they use most African American and Latino Millennials are more likely than White Millennials to prefersites other than Facebook
61% of Whites say Facebook is the site they use “most often”, compared to 47% ofBlacks and 43% of Latinos.
41% of Latinos and 35% of African Americans say either Instagram or Snapchat
are the sites they use “most often”, compared to 20% of Whites.

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2. Social media has assumed an important role in many realmsof young people’s lives, beyond simply serving as a way ofstaying in touch with friends and family. This includes informal learning,
entertainment, connecting to people with shared interests, and getting news about current
affairs. In nearly every realm, Black Millennials consider social media to be far more
important in their lives than their White peers do. Among all Millennials who use social
media:
 82% say social media is “very” or “somewhat”
important in their life for staying in touch withfamily and friends
 78% say it is important in their life for learning about things that interest them
 67% say it is important in their life for entertainment“ In nearly every realm, Black
Millennials consider social
media to be far more important in their lives than theirWhite peers do. ”

 65% say it is important for increasing the type of people and information they haveaccess to, and 59% for connecting to people who share their interests
 65% say it is important for getting news about current affairs
 African Americans are more likely than Whites to say social media are “very important”
in their life for entertainment, increasing the type of people and information they haveaccess to, getting news and information about current affairs, connecting to people whoshare their interests, and promoting their business or work lives (Latinos fall in between
on all these items, and there is less consistency in their responses).
 Some of these differences are quite large. For example, 45% of African American respondents say social media are “very important” in their lives for learning about things thatinterest them, compared to 24% of White respondents, and 32% say social media are“very important” for getting news and information about current affairs, compared to
17% of white respondents.

3. In particular, social media has become the top source of news
for Millennials.
Eighteen- to thirty- year-olds are far more likely to get news through social media (and other
online sources) than from traditional sources such as TV, radio, or newspapers.
 Social media is the top source of news, with 34% saying they get “a lot” of news that way,followed by online news sites (25%) and mobile apps (23%)
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION Cable, network, and local TV are far behind (14%, 13%, and 13% respectively) When asked where they get “most” of their news, more than twice as many name social
media (31%) as name the next closest source (16%, for online news sites)“ When asked where
they get “most” of theirnews, more than twice
as many Millennials
name social media asname the next closest
source.”Of course, news that is accessed through social media may
originate from a variety of sources, including “traditional”
news institutions such as the New York Times or CNN. The
findings about social media as a news source illuminate themode of delivery of news, but not necessarily the original
source of the news content. However, the fact that social
media is such an important conduit for news does indicatethat the viral nature of the delivery, and the potential for“fake” or inaccurate news sources, is substantial.

4. In addition, many Millennials use social media as a tool forpolitical and social engagement. Many millennials have taken online actions
or used social media to make their social or political views known.
 A majority of Millennials (54%) have signed an online petition About one in four say they have become more involved in a social or political issue
because of something they saw in social media (28%) or donated to a social cause online(24%)
 Close to one in five (19%) have participated in social media campaigns to influence a
government decision or action
 Seventy-nine percent of Millennials see posts or discussions about social or politicalissues in their social media feeds, including 45% who “often” do Three in ten (31%) post such content themselves (6% do so “often”)
Clearly, the kinds of content coming across Millennials’ social media feeds includes a great
deal of content on political issues, and many are using social media to express their politicalviews or to inform their off-line involvement.

5. At the same time, most Millennials are not happy with thetone of the political discussions they encounter on social media,
finding them less respectful and less trustworthy than those inother media, and saying such content leaves them feeling
frustrated and worn out. Among Millennials who say they often or sometimes see
social and political content in their social media:
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION About half say they find political discussions insocial media to be less respectful (53%) and lesstrustworthy (47%) than those they see in othermedia, such as television, radio, andnewspapers; about a quarter say therespectfulness and trustworthiness are about thesame as in other media (25% and 28%
respectively)“ Millennials are concerned
about the tone and quality ofthe political discussions theyencounter on social media. ”

 Despite the ability of social media to tailor content to the user, Millennials don’t consider
the political content in social media to be more relevant or informative than what theysee in other media. In fact, 33% say such content is less informative than in other media(21% say “more” and 31% say “about the same”), and 27% say it is less relevant to them
personally than what they see in other media (24% say “more” and 34% say “about thesame.”
 When asked whether such content was more likely to make them feel informed orconfused, 58% chose “informed,” and 40% said “confused.” Similarly, more respondents
said such content made them “interested” (57%) rather than “bored” (41%). So, while amajority find such content interesting and informative, there are still sizable numbers(roughly four in ten) who say they mainly find it confusing and boring.
 The vast majority (72%) say the political content on social media is more likely to leavethem feeling “frustrated” than “motivated,” and 70% say they feel “worn out” instead of“energized.” Some Millennials have a positive response to the social media content they come acrossthat concerns social or political issues. About one in four say such content leaves themfeeling “energized” (27%) or “motivated” (25%).

6. African American Millennials have a far more positive
response to social and political content in social media thantheir White or Latino peers do; in fact, they are at least twice as
likely as Whites to say such content leaves them feelingenergized and motivated.
 Forty-four percent of African Americans say they feel motivated by the political content
they encounter in social media, compared to just 16% of Whites (31% among Latinos) Forty-two percent say they feel energized by the political content they encounter in social
media, compared to 21% of White Millennials (31% among Latinos)
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION African Americans are significantly more likely
to say they feel more empowered to express
their views about important issues thanks tosocial media (62% agree, compared to 46% ofWhites and 42% of Latinos).
 They are also the most likely to say that social
media gives them more influence over
government or corporate decisions (42%,compared to 25% of Whites and 35% of
Latinos).

“ African American Millennials are much more likely thantheir White or Latino counterparts to say that social
media gives them more influence over government andcorporate decisions.”

7. Millennials who identify as liberals are much more likely thanmoderates or conservatives to respond positively to andparticipate in social and political content in social media.
 Thirty percent of Millennials consider themselves liberal, 38% say they are moderates,and 18% consider themselves conservative (13% identify as “other”).
 Liberals are much more likely than conservatives to see political content in their social
media: 65% do so “often,” compared to 38% of moderates and 39% of conservatives.
 Liberals also post more political content on social media: 44% say they often or
sometimes post about social or political issues on their social networking sites; bycomparison, 28% of moderates and conservatives do so.
 Liberals are significantly more likely to say thatsocial media is an important way for them toconnect with people who care about the same
issues they do (73% vs. 52% of conservatives),
and they are also more likely to report having
had problems with people they know due topolitical disagreements they’ve had on social
media (46% vs. 29% of conservatives).

“ Liberal Millennials are far
more likely than their moderate or conservative peers to
say they feel informed by andinterested in political content
in social media.” Liberals are the most likely group to say they feel informed and interested, rather than
confused or bored, by the political content they encounter in social media.
For example, among liberals 74% say political social media content makes themfeel informed, while 25% say it makes them feel confused. But moderates areevenly split at 49% to 49%. (Conservatives are in between, at 62% informed vs.
35% confused) media.
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Similarly, 73% of liberals say political social media content leaves them interested,while 26% say bored. But among conservatives, 54% say interested and 42%
bored (52% vs. 45% among moderates).
 Liberals are also far more likely than conservatives or moderates to say that social media
helps them feel more empowered to express their views about important issues: 66%,
compared to 46% of conservatives and 45% of moderates.

8. Despite the challenges of the current political environment,
Millennials are optimistic about their generation’s ability toeffect political change – especially liberals and Millennials ofcolor.
 Eight in ten (80%) Millennials agree that“dramatic change could occur in thiscountry if my generation banded together
and demanded change,” including nearlyfour in ten (38%) who “strongly agree”.
 Seventy-five percent agree that “people in
my generation have the skills to work
together to achieve political goals,” with
29% agreeing “strongly.”“ African Americans and Latinos
are both far more likely thanWhites to believe that dramaticchange could occur in this country if their generation banded
together to demand it. ”

 Liberals are far more likely to believe in the possibilities of dramatic political change (+27percentage points compared to moderates and +35 compared to conservatives who“strongly agree” that dramatic change could occur if their generation banded together
and demanded it).
 African Americans and Latinos are both far more likely than Whites to believe that
dramatic change could occur in this country if their generation banded together todemand it (African Americans +28 percentage points compared to Whites who “strongly
agree”, and Latinos +14 percentage points over Whites).
 African American Millennials are far more likely than Whites or Latinos to believe that
their generation has the skills to work together to achieve political goals (+16 percentage
points compared to Whites who “strongly agree”, and +20 percentage points comparedto Latinos).

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2. CONNECTIVITY
Virtually all Millennials have Internet-connected devices, andnearly three out of four say the main way they go online isthrough a mobile device. Ninety-nine percent of 18- to 30-year-olds owns at least
one device that connects to the Internet: either a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop
computer. Eighty-six percent have high speed Internet access at their home; 14% do not.
Two-thirds (68%) go online mainly through their smartphone and 5% mainly through atablet, for a total of 73% who mainly go online through a mobile (handheld) device.
Device Ownership

Primary Connectivity

Percent of 18-30 year-olds who own a:

Percent of 18-30 year-olds who say the main way
they go online is through a:

Smartphone93

Laptop computer

73

Smartphone

68

Tablet device

46

Laptop computer

19

Desktop computer

31

Desktop computer

8

None of the above

1

Tablet device

5

Among Millennials,

9/10own a smartphone.

Nearly7/10 Millennials say the main way they

go online is through a smartphone.

Demographic differences:
Age and gender. There are no differences by age in terms of ownership of computers andmobile devices, nor is there any difference regarding the primary means of going online.
Male Millennials are more likely than females to own desktop computers (39% vs. 23%),
while females are more likely than males to own a tablet (56% vs. 38%). Women are also
more likely to go online through mobile devices than males (79% vs. 66%). More specifically,
while the majority of men and women in our survey say the main way they go online isthrough a smartphone, women are even more likely than men to say they go onlne this way.
SES and race/ethnicity. The only difference in device ownership by socio-economic status isthat those on the higher end of the scale are more likely to own a laptop (79% vs. 67% of
lower-income Millennials). There are no racial or SES differences in the likelihood of having
a high-speed home Internet connection, and none by SES in terms of primary type of11

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connectivity (mobile or not). African American and Latino Millennials are more likely thanwhite millennials to say their primary way of going online is through a smartphone (75% of
Latinos and 73% of African Americans compared to 63% of whites).

“ African American and Latino
Millennials are more likely thanWhite Millennials to say theirprimary way of going online isthrough a smartphone. ”

Primary Connectivity, By Demographics
Percent of 18-30 year-olds who say
the main way they go online isthrough a:

Male

Female

White

Black

LatinoSmartphone

*63a

73b

63a

73b

75b

Laptop computer

24a

14b

22a

13b

18ab

Desktop computer

10a

5b

10

7

4

Tablet device

3

6

4

6

3

Total mobile

66a

79b

67a

79b

78b

A substantial number of Millennials have connectivity challenges, cutting back in other areas to afford Internet service, or experiencing inconsistent connectivity. As mentioned above, 14% of Millennials don’t have high-speed Internet service at home. In addition, one in four 18- to
30-year-olds (26%) say they often or sometimes have to cut back in other areas to afford theirInternet service; a third (34%) say they are very or somewhat dependent on publicly available
WiFi. Some encounter problems with inconsistent connectivity, including reaching thelimits on their data plans (27% in the past year), having their cell phone or Internet service
cut off because they couldn’t pay for it (14% and 11% in the past year, respectively). A total of
40% of Millennials say they experienced at least one of the latter three connectivity challenges during the past year.

*All superscripts note which items diﬀer in a statistically reliable way. For a description of statistical signiﬁcance in this report, seepage 57.

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Aﬀordability And Reliability Of Connectivity
Aﬀordability of Internet connection – percent of 18-30 year-olds who:
Often have to cut back in other areas to aﬀord Internet service

8

Sometimes have to cut back in other areas to aﬀord Internet service

18

Don’t have to worry about paying for Internet service

58

Don’t have home Internet access

14

Reliability of Internet connection – percent of 18-30 year-olds who haveexperienced the following in the past 12 months:
Cell phone service got cut oﬀ because it was hard to pay for

14

Internet service got cut oﬀ at home because it was hard to pay for

11

Reached the limit on their mobile device data plan and couldn’t
go online for a while27

Any of the above

40

Degree of dependence on public WiFi – percent of 18-30 year-olds whoareVery dependent

10

Somewhat dependent24

Not too dependent33

Not dependent at all

33

Demographic differences:
Age and gender. There are almost no differences by age or gender in affordability or reliability of Internet service; the one exception is that 25- to 30-year-olds are more likely than 18to 24-year-olds to say their home Internet service has been cut off in the past year because of
inability to pay (15% vs. 8%).
SES and race/ethnicity. Not surprisingly, there
are a number of differences based on socio-economic status, with lower-SES Millennials much
more likely than their higher-SES counterparts toreport “often” having to cut back in other areas toafford Internet service (15% vs. 5%), being very orsomewhat dependent on public WiFi (42% vs.

Lower-SES Millennials are more
likely than higher-SES Millennials to rely on public WiFi orexperience connectivity problems.

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27%), and experiencing some type of inconsistency in their connectivity in the past year (51%vs. 31%). For example, Millennials who are very dissastified with their financial situation aremuch more likely than those who are very or somewhat satisfied with their situation to have
had their cell phone service cut off because it was hard to pay for (26% vs. 7% among thosewith a smartphone) or have home Internet serice cut off because of money in the past twelve
months (17% vs. 8% among those with home service). Differences by race are scattered andinconsistent: Latinos are more likely than Whites to “often” cut back in other areas to afford
Internet service (17% vs. 6%, with Blacks in between at 10%); Blacks are more likely thanWhites to be “very dependent” on publicly available WiFi (15% vs. 8%, with Latinos in the
middle at 13%); and Blacks are more likely than Whites to say they’ve had their Internet
service cut off in the past year due to difficulties paying the bills (17% vs. 10%, with Latinos inbetween at 10%).

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Aﬀordability And Reliability Of Connectivity
By Race/Ethnicity

By Economic Satisfaction
White

Black

LatinoVery/somewhatsatisﬁed

Somewhatdissatisﬁed

Verydissatisﬁed

Aﬀordability of Internet connection – percent of 18-30 yealds who:
Often have to cut back inother areas to aﬀord
Internet service

6a

10ab

17b

5a

11b

15b

Sometimes have to cut
back in other areas toaﬀord Internet service

21

23

17

12a

25b

33b

Don’t have to worry
about paying for Internet
service

72

66

64

80a

62b

51b

Don’t have home
Internet access

12

12

16

12

15

17

Reliability of Internet connection – percent of 18-30 year-olds who have experienced the following
in the past 12 months:
Cell phone service got cut
oﬀ because it was hard topay for

11

16

14

7a

16b

26b

Internet service got cut
oﬀ at home because it
was hard to pay for

10a

17b

10ab

8a

12ab

17b

Reached the limit on theirmobile device data planand couldn’t go online for a
while

29

25

21

25

28

32

Any of the above

36

41

37

30a

40ab

50b

Degree of dependence on public WiFi – percent of 18-30 year-olds who are
Very dependent

8a

15b

13ab

7

11

13

Somewhat dependent

22

21

27

20

27

29

Not too dependent

34

33

32

37

28

29

Not dependent at all

36

30

27

35

33

29

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3. POLITICAL EFFICACY AND POLITICALINVOLVEMENT
Millenials indicate a fairly strong sense of collective political efficacy, and asomewhat lower level of individual political efficacy. In the survey, we wanted toassess the degree to which Millennials feel politically efficacious, that is, to what extent they
believe that they personally and their generation collectively can exercise political agency.
We take a snapshot of different dimensions of political efficacy:
Dimensions Of Political Eﬃcacy

Individual

Internal

Measures the degree to which an individual believes she can act
politically.

External

Measures the degree to which an individual believes her politicalactions can inﬂuence the decisions of people in government.

Internal

Measures the degree to which an individual belives that the grouphe is a member of can act together to achieve a political goal.

External

Measures the degree to which an individual believes that the grouphe is a member of can compel those in power to respond to thegroup’s demands.

Collective

Millennials exhibit relatively strong levels of individual internal political efficacy. Three outof four Millennials agree that “I have a pretty good understanding of the important politicalissues facing our country,” including one in four who agree “strongly.” On our measure ofindividual external political efficacy, 44% disagreed with the statement “People like me don’t
have any say about what the government does,” with 11% disagreeing strongly. According toour findings, Millennials have an even stronger sense of collective rather than individual
political efficacy. When it comes to measures of collective external political efficacy, eight inten agree that “dramatic change could occur in this country if my generation banded together
and demanded change,” including nearly four in ten (38%) who “strongly agree”. Millennials
are also more likely than not to feel a positive sense of collective internal political efficacy.
For example, seventy-five percent agree that “people in my generation have the skills to work
together to achieve political goals,” with 29% agreeing “strongly.”

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Political Eﬃcacy
Percent of 18-30 year-olds who
agree/disagree that:

Total strongly/
somewhatagree

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat
agree
agree
disagreeStrongly
disagreeI have a pretty good understanding of
the important political issues facing ourcountry.

75%

25

50

18

6

People like me don’t have any say
about what the government does.

55%

19

37

33

11

Dramatic change could occur in thiscountry if my generation banded
together and demanded change.

80%

38

43

15

4

People in my generation have the skills
to work together to achieve politicalgoals.

75%

29

46

17

7

Demographic differences:
Age and gender. Younger Millennials are more likely than older ones to believe their generation has the skills to work together to achieve political goals (+9 percentage points “strongly
agree”). On the measure of individual internal political efficacy men were more likely than
women to “strongly agree.” Millennial males are much more likely than females to believethat they have a good understanding of the important political issues facing the country (+16percentage points “strongly agree”).
SES and race/ethnicity. Those at the lower end of the socio-economic scale are less likely
than those at the higher end to believe they have a good understanding of important politicalissues (no difference in the percent who “strongly agree”, but -11 percentage points among
those who agree “strongly” or “somewhat” combined). Less financially secure Millennials
are also more likely to agree that people like them have no say about what the government
does (+19 percentage point difference “strongly agree”). African Americans Millennials are
far more likely than Whites or Latinos to believe that their generation has the skills to work
together to achieve political goals (+16 percentage points compared to Whites who “strongly
agree”, and +20 percentage points compared to Latinos). African Americans and Latinos
are both far more likely than Whites to believe that dramatic change could occur in thiscountry if their generation banded together to demand it (African Americans +28 percentage points compared to Whites who “strongly agree”, and Latinos +14 percentage points
over Whites).
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Relationship to political social media use:
Millennials who often or sometimes use social media to post about social or political issues
are more likely than those who hardly ever or never do to say they have a good understandingof the political issues facing the country (+12 percentage points “strongly agree” compared tothose who never post political content). They are more likely to believe their generation has
the skills necessary to work together for political change (+14 percentage points “strongly
agree” compared to those who hardly ever post social or political content; the difference withthose who never post social or political content is not statistically significant). And they are
far more likely to believe that dramatic change is possible if their generation bands together
to demand it (+20 percentage points “strongly agree” compared to those who hardly everpost social or political content and +23 percentage points compared to those who never do).
These data highlight a critical finding about the relationship between collective political
efficacy and politically-oriented use of social media.

Millennials who post
about
political issues to social media
are more likely than those who
hardly ever do to feel morepolitically eﬃcacious.

It may be that Millennials who feel a greater senseof collective political efficacy are more likely to use
social media for political purposes; or Millennials
who actively post about social and political issues
on social media may develop a greater sense ofcollective political efficacy. The data from thisstudy cannot indicate whether there is a causal
relationship or, if so, in which direction causation
flows.

Relationship to political ideology:
Those on either end of the political extremes are more confident that they understand theimportant political issues facing the country (+21 percentage points among liberals and +16
percentage points among conservatives who “strongly agree” compared to moderates); andliberals are far more likely to believe in the possibilities of dramatic political change (+27percentage points compared to moderates and +35 compared to conservatives who “strongly
agree” that dramatic change could occur if their generation banded together and demandedit). Liberals are also far more likely to believe that their generation has the skills to work
together to achieve political goals (+24 percentage points compared to moderates and +23
percentage points compared to conservatives that “strongly agree”).
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Most Millennials say they don’t always vote, and have never attended a politicalevent in person. Only about one in four (27%) Millennials say they always vote, withanother 39% saying they do so sometimes. One in three (34%) say they hardly ever or neverdo. One in five Millennials say they have ever attended either a political rally or demonstration (21%) and a similar number say they have ever participated in face-to-face meetings orgroups working to address social or political issues. A total of a third (33%) of Millennials
report having done one or the other of those, while 10% have done both.
Political Activity
Percent of 18-30 year-olds who:

27% of Millennials say they

Attend political events

vote always.

Have attended a political rally
or demonstration

21

Have participated in-person inmeetings or groups working toaddress social or political issues

22

vote sometimes.

Have done either of the above

33

14% of Millennials say they

Have done both of the above

10

39% of Millennials say theyhardly ever vote.

Vote...
Always27

Sometimes

39

Hardly ever

14

Never

20

Demographic differences:
Age and gender. Younger Millenials are more likely to have attended a political rally or
demonstration (24% v. 16%). There are no other differences by age or gender.

African American Millennials are
more likely to have attended arally or in-person meeting aboutsocial or political issues thaneither their White or Latino
counterparts.

SES and race/ethnicity. There are no differencesin likelihood of attending political events or voting
based on socio-economic status. African American Millennials are more likely than their White or
Latino peers to have attended in-person meetingsor groups about social or political issues (31%, vs.
20% of Whites and 19% of Latinos). And Latinos
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

are less likely than African Americans or Whites to vote (17% “always” vote, compared to
32% of African Americans and 31% of Whites).
Relationship to political social media use:
Millennials who are more politically active on social media are also more politically active
off-line. Thirty-seven percent of those who often or sometimes post political content on theirsocial media sites have also attended in-person meetings about social or political topics(compared to 19% of those who hardly ever do and 13% of those who never do). And 30%
have attended a political rally or demonstration, compared to 23% of those who hardly everpost political content on social media, and just 10% of those who never do so. Similarly, 37%
of political social media users say they vote all the time, compared to 24% of those who“hardly ever” and 23% of those who “never” post political content on social media.
Relationship to political ideology:First, 30% of Millennials described themselves as “very” or “somewhat” liberal. There wereno substantial racial or gender differences in the likelihood of Millennials identifying as “liberal.” On the other end of the political ideology spectrum, 18% of Millennials identified as“very” or “somewhat” conservative. There were no substantial gender differences. However,Whites (17%) were more likely than Blacks (5%) or Latinos (9%) to identify as “somewhat
conservative.”
Millennials at either end of the political spectrum are more likely to vote, and liberals are far
more likely than others to participate in off-line political activities. Thirty-three percent ofliberals and 39% of conservatives say they vote all the time, compared to 24% of moderates.
And among liberals, 36% say they have attended an in-person meeting on a social or political
topic, compared to 18% of moderates and 15% of conservatives. Similarly, 34% of liberals
have attended a political rally or demonstration, compared to 16% of moderates and 14% ofconservatives.

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4. SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Almost all (95%) Millennials use social media, and the vast majority visit their social media sites every day. They post andshare on social media far less often than they check it, but many
still do so on a daily basis.
Ninety-five percent of 18- to 30-year-olds use social media. Eighty-six percent use it every
day, including more than half (53%) who say they do so “many times” each day.In addition to
the 5% who don’t use social media at all, another 3% use it only once a week or less. A third(33%) of millennials say they post or share something on social media every day, 24% do soweekly, and a third (36%) say they do so less than once a week (including 7% who say they
never do).
Frequency of posting to social media sites

Frequency of social media use
Percent of 18-30 year-olds who visit social media
Many times a day

53

A few times a day

27

Once a day

6

A few times a week

6

Once a week

1

Less than once a week2

Don’t use social media

5

Percent of 18-30 year-olds who post or sharesomething on a social media site:
Many times a day

11

A few times a day

13

Once a day

9

A few times a week

17

Once a week7

Less than once a week

29

Never

7

Don’t use social media

5

1/3of Millennials post

Nearlyto social media at least

either a few times oronce a day

1/4 post

many times a day

Demographic differences:
Among those who use social media, there are no substantial differences in the frequency ofsocial media use by age or gender. Older Millennials (25-30) are more likely to post on adaily basis than younger ones (40% vs. 31%), and women are more likely to be daily posters
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

than men (42% vs. 29%v). Whites visit
social media sites more than Latinos (60%
visit many times a day vs. 48% of Latinos,with Blacks in between at 58%), andBlacks post more frequently (47% do sodaily, compared to 36% of Whites and 29%
of Latinos). Also, Millennials who are veryor somewhat dissatisfied with their financial
situation are much more likely than those
who are very or somewhat satisfied with
their situation to post or share something onsocial media many times a day (43% of thevery dissatisfied and 40% of the somewhat
dissatisfied, vs. 29% of the very/somewhat
satisfied).

• Women are more likely to be daily posters
to social media than men.
• Blacks post more frequently than Whites
or Latinos.
• Millennials who are very or somewhat
dissatisﬁed with their ﬁnancial situation are
more likely than those who are very orsomewhat satisﬁed with their situation topost something on social media many times
a day.

Frequency of social media use, by demographics
Among 18-30 year-olds who
use social media, percent
who

18-24
yearolds

25-30
yearolds

Male

Female

White

Black

Latino

90

90

88

93

90

91

94

58

53

53

58

60a

58ab

48b

Weekly

9

6

11a

5b

7

7

4

Less than weekly

1a

4b

1

2

2

1

2

31a

40b

29a

42b

36a

47b

29a

11

13

14

12

12a

22b

9a

Weekly

27

24

25

27

26

25

24

Less than weekly

33

28

36a

26b

30ab

22a

40b

Never

8

7

10

6

9

6

7

VISIT social media:
Total daily

POST to social media:
Total daily

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Facebook is by far the most popular social media site among
this age group.
Top social media use
More than eight in ten (83%) Millennials
use Facbook, including 52% who say it is thesocial network they use “most often.” Instagram and Snapchat are also used by amajority of millennials (61% and 56% ever
use those sites, respectively), but only 13%
choose each of those sites as the one theyuse most.

Percent of 18-30
year-olds who use
each site

Eever

Most
often

Facebook

83

52

Instagram

61

13

Snapchat

56

13

Twitter

31

7

Pinterest30

2LinkedIn

24

1

Reddit16

6

Tumblr11

1

Demographic differences:Age. There is some variation in use of particular social media sites, based on age, gender,and race/ethnicity. Younger Millennials are more likely to use Snapchat and Instagram:
68% of 18- to 24-year-olds ever use Snapchat, compared to 43% of 25- to 30-year-olds; and66% of younger Millennials use Instagram compared to 55% of older Millennials. Older Millennials are 18 percentage points more likely than younger ones to say that Facebook is theirprimary social media site (64% vs. 46%). Nearly three in ten young Millennials (29%)
choose either Snapchat or Twitter as the social media site they use most often. It will beinteresting to see, in years to come, whether the younger Millennials start using Facebook
more as they grow older, or whether Facebook usage will begin to trend down as the younger
Millennials age up.
Gender. Women are substantially more

“ Younger Millennials are more
likely than older ones to use
Snapchat or Instagram. Older
Millennials are more likely than
younger Millennials, 64 to 46
percent, to say Facebook is theirprimary social media site. ”

likely than men to use Pinterest (47% vs.
13%), and men are more likely to use Reddit(24% vs. 8%). Twenty-two percent of menchoose either Reddit (12%) or Twitter (10%)
as the site they use most often (compared to
6% of women). Women are also more likely
to name Facebook or Instagram as the site
they use “most often” (60% of women vs.
49% of men for Facebook, and 17% of
women vs. 11% of men for Instagram).
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION• Whites are more likely than Blacks
or Latinos to say Facebook is the site
they use “most often.”• Latinos and Blacks are more likely
than Whites to say Instagram or
Snapchat is the site they use “mostoften.”

Race/ethnicity. Facebook is more popular among
White Millennials than among Black or Latino ones.
Nearly nine in ten (88%) Whites in this age group use
Facebook, compared to 77% of Blacks and 71% of
Latinos. Sixty-one percent of Whites say Facebook is
the site they use most often, compared to 47% ofBlacks and 43% of Latinos. Moreover, Latinos are theleast likely to use LinkedIn (13%, compared to 27% ofWhites and 25% of Blacks), and Blacks are the least likely to use Reddit (just 7%). Twitter ismore popular among African American Millennials, with 41% saying they use it, compared to
26% of Latinos (Whites are in between at 33%). However, only 10% of Black Millennials say
Twitter is their primary social media site. And African American and Latino Millennials are
more likely than Whites to say that Instagram and Snaphchat are their main social media
sites: a total of 41% of Latinos use one of those two sites most often, as do 35% of Blacks, compared to 20% of Whites.
Top Social Media Sites, By Demographics
18-24
year-olds

25-30
year-olds

Male

Female

White

Black

LatinoPercent who ever use each site:
Facebook

80

85

79a

86b

88a

77b

71b

Instagram

66a

55b

59

63

57

64

62

Snapchat

68a

43b

54

58

57

62

54

Twitter

35

27

34

29

33ab

41a

26b

Pinterest

28

32

13a

47b

32

25

26

LinkedIn

22

27

24

24

27a

25a

13b

Reddit

18

14

24a

8b

20a

7b

13ab

Tumblr

15a

6b

9

13

9

13

15

Percent who use each site most often
Facebook

46a

64b

49a

60b

61a

47b

43b

Instagram

16

12

11

17

10a

18b

21b

Snapchat

19a

8b

16

12

10a

17b

20b

Twitter

10a

4b

10a

5b

8

10

6

Pinterset

2

4

1a

4b

2

4

2

LinkedIn

*

1

1

*

1

0

1

Reddit

8

5

12a

1b

8a

2b

7a

Tumblr

1

*

*

1

*

2

1

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Social media is most important to Millennials for staying intouch with friends and family, but many also use it for informal
learning.
A noteworthy trend regarding Millennials’
At least a quarter of Millennials say thatsocial media behavior is the extent to which itsocial media is “Very important” for theis becoming important for multiple aspects offollowing:• Staying in touch with family and friends
their lives. A technology that was once used
• Learning about new things that interest
primarily to connect to friends and families isthem
now adopted to connect to a wide array of• Increasing the type of people and informaactivities and interests. Just under half (46%)
tion they have access to• Entertainmentof Millennials say social media is “veryimportant” in their life for staying in touchwith friends and family. But many Millennials also consider social media “very important” for learning about things that interest them(31%), entertainment (25% say it is “very important”), and getting news about current affairs(19% say that is “very important”). One in seven (14%) Millennials say that social media is“very” important for promoting their business or work life.
Importance Of Socail Media In Various Realms
In general, how important is social media inyour life for (among social media users):

VeryimportantSomewhat
important

Not tooimportant

Not at allimportant

Staying in touch with family and friends

46

36

10

6

Learning about things that interest you

31

47

13

9

Increasing the type of people andinformation you have access to

26

39

24

10

Entertainment

25

42

25

8

Connecting to people who share your interests

20

39

31

10

Getting news or information about current aﬀairs

19

46

27

8

Promoting your business or work life

14

26

28

31

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Demographic differences:
Age and gender. Younger respondents say social media is even more important to themthan older ones for entertainment (31% say it is “very important”, compared to 19% of older
respondents) and for connecting to people who share their interests (24% vs. 15%). Womenare more likely than men to say social media is “very important” for staying in touch withfriends and family (53% vs. 40% among men).
SES and race/ethnicity. There are no differences between Millennials based on socio-economic status in terms of the importance of social media in their lives for the various functions asked about in this survey. However, there are substantial differences by race. Social
media seem to be substantially more important to African American Millennials across avariety of realms. For example, Blacks are more likely than Whites to say social media are“very important” in their life for entertainment, increasing the type of people and information they have access to, getting news and information about current affairs, connecting topeople who share their interests, learning about things that interest them, and promoting
their business or work lives (Latinos fall in between on all these items, and there is less consistency in their responses). Some of these differences are quite large. For example, 45% of
African American respondents say social media are “very important” in their lives for learning about things that interest them, compared to 24% of White respondents, and 32% saysocial media are “very important” for getting news and information about current affairs,
compared to 17% of White respondents.
In what can only be described as a shift inwhat has long been called the “digital
divide,” African American Millennials aremuch more likely than their White counterparts to view social media as a very important part of many aspects of their lives
includingfor entertainment, learning
about new things, promoting their work
lives, and increasing the types of people andinformation they have access to.

African American Millennials are much
more likely than their White counterparts
to view social media as a very importantpart of many aspects of their lives including for entertainment, learning about
new things, promoting their work lives,and increasing the types of people andinformation they have access to. “

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Importance Of Social Media In Various Realms, By Demographics
Among social media users, percent who say social media is very/somewhat important in their life for:
18-24

25-30

Male

Female

White

Black

LatinoStaying in touch with family and friends
Very

44

49

40a

53b

46

48

49

Very/somewhat

82

84

78a

87b

83

82

83

Learning about things that interest you
Very

32

29

30

31

24a

45b

34ab

Very/somewhat

74a

83b

78

78

77

79

83

Very

31a

19b

28

23

24a

34b

25ab

Very/somewhat

72a

62b

67

68

66

70

68

Entertainment

Increasing the type of people and information you have access to
Very

29

23

28

23

24a

34b

26ab

Very/somewhat

68

62

62

66

64

72

61

Getting news/information about current aﬀairs
Very

20

18

20

18

17a

32b

21ab

Very/somewhat

65

65

65

65

61a

73b

72b

Connecting to people who share your interests
Very

24a

15b

21

19

19a

30b

19a

Very/somewhat

61

56

57

61

56a

70b

60ab

Promoting your business or work life
Very

12

18

13

16

13a

24b

14a

Very/somewhat

40

41

43

39

36a

53b

42ab

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5. NEWS SOURCES - ONLINE AND
SOCIAL MEDIA
Milllennials are far more likely to get news from online andsocial media sources than from traditional sources such as TV,
radio, or newspapers.
News consumption is one measure of civic and political engagement. People who consume
news are more likely to be informed about current affairs and social and political issues.4
More and more news consumption is happening through social media channels. This is especially true among Millennials and points to some important cultural shifts in the formation of
an informed/misinformed citizenry.
Social media is the top source of news among
18- to 30-year-olds, with 34% saying they get “alot” of news that way, followed by online newssites (25%) and mobile apps (23%). Cable,
network, and local TV are far behind (14%, 13%,and 13% respectively). All together, more thanhalf (51%) say they get “a lot” of news from

Millennials are much more
likely to say they get “a lot”
of news from online sources, compared to TV sources,
radio, and print.

online sources, compared to 24% from any TV
source, 13% from radio, and 4% from print. When asked where they get “most” of their news,
more than twice as many name social media (31%) as name the next closest source (16%, foronline news sites).
Percent of 18-30 year-olds who get "a lot" of news from each source:
51%

Online24%

Television
Radio

13%

Print 4%0%
24% 10%

51%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

13%
Putnam, Robert. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.

4

4%

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Percent of 18-30 year-olds who get “the most” news from each source:
31%

Social media
News website

16%

Network TV

9%News apps

9%

Radio

9%

Cable TV

8%

Local TV
Print

7%
1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Of course, online news may come from a variety of news institutions, including those thatoriginated in print or television, such as the New York Times or CNN. The findings about
online news sources concern the mode of delivery of news, but not necessarily the original
source of the news content. Most of the major news organizations are creating and/or updating their news stories throughout the day, making the production of news delivered digitallya truly 24-hour and even real time enterprise. However, the fact that social media are suchan important conduit for news does indicate that the viral nature of the delivery, and thepotential for “fake” or inaccurate news sources, is substantial.
All told, a total of 63% of Millennials say they get “a lot” of news from one or more sources,
30% get “some” news from one or more sources, 7% get less than that. About one in ten(13%) millennials “often” turn to online sources such as blogs and podcasts about social orpolitical issues, and nearly half (47%) do so at least “sometimes.”

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONNews Sources
Amount of news 18-30 year-olds
get from each source:

Get ‘themost’ news
from

A lot

Some

Posts or links on social networking sites(like Facebook or Twitter)

34

36

31

Online news sites (such as CNN.com,
NYTimes.com, Yahoo! News, Google News)

25

37

16

News apps on a mobile device (such as
Buzzfeed, or news org app like CNN)

23

32

9

Cable television news shows(such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC)

14

33

8

Network television news shows(such as CBS, NBC, ABC)

13

38

9

Local television news shows

13

34

7

Radio news

13

32

9

Print newspapers

4

18

1

Any online source

51

56

Any TV source24

24

Any source

63

30

NA

Demographic differences:
There are no differences between younger and older Millennials or between men or womenin the percent who say they get “a lot” of news from any of the sources asked about in thissurvey. The only news source that showed any variation by socio-economic status was cableTV, with low-SES respondents more likely to say they get “a lot” of news from cable (19% vs.
11% for the higher group).
However, there are substantial differences by race, with African Americans more likely to get“a lot” of news from many different sources. The hierarchy of news sources is fundamentallythe same across racial and ethnic groups, but for nearly every source asked about, African
Americans are more likely than their White counterparts to say they get “a lot” of news fromthat source. The difference is most pronounced with local and cable television: 9% of White30

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Millennials report getting “a lot” of news from local TV, compared to 20% of both African
Americans and Latinos; 12% of Whites and Latinos say they get “a lot” of news from cable TV,
compared to 25% of African Americans. Similarly, African Americans are more likely to saythat they get “a lot” of news from social media (46%, compared to 33% of Whites and 31% of
Latinos). In addition to exhibiting higher levels of political efficacy and political posts tosocial media, African American Millennials also consume more news from the sources we
asked about than their White or Latino counterparts. The findings from our data suggest that
Black Millennials compared, for example, to White Millennials are more active when it comesto a variety of civic related practices such as news consumption, posting political content tosocial media, and involvement in offline political activities (i.e., attending a meeting about apolitical issue in-person).
It is also worth noting that Millennials who mainly go online via a mobile device are more
likely to say they get “a lot” of news from social media (37%) than those who mainly go online
with with a desktop or laptop computer (26%). Some research suggests that people who gettheir news from a mobile device multiple times a day tend to turn to more news sources, readin-depth news articles, watch news videos, and send and receive news through social
networks.5 As we note above it may also be possible that these same people are more exposed
to “fake news.”
News Sources
Percent of 18-30 year-olds who
get “a lot” of news from:

White

Black

LatinoSocial networking sites

33a

46b

31a

Online news websites

24a

35b

24ab

News apps

21a

30b

26ab

Cable television

12a

25b

12a

Network television

11a

19b

17ab

Local television

9a

20b

20b

Radio

13

13

16

Print newspapers

5ab

9a

3b

Any online

50

59

52

Any TV

19a

38b

28ab

“A lot” from ANY source

64

69

63

Available at www.journalism.org/2012/10/01/future-mobile-news/.

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6. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTENT IN
SOCIAL MEDIA
Millennials see a lot social and political content in their social
media, but far fewer actually post such content themselves.
Forty-five percent of those who use social media say they “often” see posts or discussions
about social or political issues, and another 34% say they “sometimes” do. But only 6% saythey often post such content, with 25% saying they sometimes do. More than a third of Millennials (35%) say they “never” post about social or political issues on social media.
POLITICAL CONTENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who use social media, percent who “see” or “post”
content on social or political issues on their social media sites
See social or political content
in social media sites

45%

34%
Often

Post social or political content
to social media sites 6%

25%

0%

20%

Sometimes

40%

60%

80%

100%

Demographic differences:
There are no differences by age, gender, or socio-economic status in the likelihood of Millennials either “often” seeing or posting social media content on social or political issues.White
Millennials are more likely than Blacks or Latinos to see political content in social media“often” (51%, compared to 40% of African Americans and 35% of Latinos).
Blacks are more likely to post such content often(14%, compared to 4% of Whites and 5% of Latinos). Further, Millennials who are dissatisfied
with their current financial situation are also51%
more likely than those who are either very orsomewhat satisfied to say they post social andpolitical content “often” on social media (10%13%
vs. 4% of the very/somewhat satisfied group).
4%

Millennials who are
dissatisﬁed with theirﬁnancial situation are more
likely than those who aresatisﬁed to post politicalcontent “often.”
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONWhite (39%) and Latino Millennials (35%) are much more likely than black Millennials(22%) to say that they “never” post political content.
Relationship to political ideology:
There is a substantial difference among Millennials who identify as liberals vs. those who
identify as conservative when it comes to use of social media to post content on social orpolitical issues. Among those who say they are very or somewhat liberal, 44% say they often
or sometimes post about social or political issues on their social networking sites; by comparison, 28% of moderates and 16% of very or somewhat conservatives do so. Thirteen percent
of liberals say they post such content “often,” compared to 3% of moderates and 2% of conservatives. Liberals also see more political content in social media: 65% do so “often,” compared to 38% of moderates and 39% of conservatives.
Relationship to offline political involvement:
In addition, online political activity and offline political activity seem to go together – thesame people are likely to be involved in both. There doesn’t appear to be one type of person

Millennials who often post politicalcontent on social media are also
more likely to have participated in apolitical rally or an in-person meeting
about a social cause than Millennials
who do not post such content.

who is active politically online, and anothertype who is active offline. For example,
those who often or sometimes post politicalcontent online are also more likely to haveparticipated in a political rally or an in-person meeting about a social or political issue(65%, compared to 26% of those who “hardly
ever” post about politics on social media and
16% of those who “never” do).

A majority of millennials say the political content they encounter in social media interests and informs them, but a larger proportion also say they feel frustrated and worn out by it.
The survey asked Millennials who often or sometimes see content on social or political issues
in their social media feeds a series of questions about how such content makes them feel.
When asked whether such content was more likely to make them feel informed or confused,
58% chose “informed,” and 40% said “confused.” Similarly, more respondents said such content made them “interested” (57%) rather than “bored” (41%). So, while a majority find such
33

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

content interesting and informative, there are still sizable numbers (roughly four in ten) who
say they mainly find it confusing and boring.
RESPONSE TO POLITICAL OR SOCIAL CONTENT
ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who often or sometimes see
political or social content in their social media feeds
When you encounter social or politicalcontent on social media, which comescloser to describing how you feel?
Worn out

70

Energized

27

Frustrated

72

Motivated

25

Informed

58

Confused

40

Interested

57

Bored

41

For a large percentage ofMillennials, social media
content involving politicalissues leaves them feeling“frustrated” and “wornout.”Some Millennials have a positive response to the social media content they come across thatconcerns/involves social or political issues. About one in four say such content leaves themfeeling “energized” (27%) or “motivated” (25%). However, the vast majority report a negative
response to such content: 72% say it is more likely to leave them feeling “frustrated” than“motivated,” and 70% say they feel “worn out” instead of “energized.”
Demographic differences:
There are no differences between younger and older Millennials in how they respond to social
or political content in social media. The only gender-related difference is that men are more
likely than women to say such content leaves them feeling informed (64% of men, vs. 52% of
women) rather than confused (34% of men, 46% of women).
However, African American Millennials have avery different response to social/political content in social media than than their White or
Latino peers do. Blacks are far more likely to
say they feel energized and motivated by suchcontent: 42% say they feel energized, compared to 21% of White Millennials, and 44%
say they feel motivated, compared to just 16%of Whites (Latinos are in between on both
items). Combining all four measures of
4%

Although Black Millennials
have a more positive valence
toward political content insocial media than Whites or
Latinos, the overall attitiudes
of each tends to be morenegative than positive.

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

respondents’ attitudes about politically-oriented content in social media, 40% of Whites havea mainly negative valence, compared to 22% of Blacks and 24% of Latinos; by contrast, 30%
of Blacks have a mainly positive valence, compared to just 11% of Whites and 13% of Latinos.
Overall, the attitudes of Whites, Blacks, and Latinos toward social and political content intheir social media tend to be more negative than positive. We say more on this below.
MOTIVATION VS. FRUSTRATION, BY RACE/ETHNICITY
Percent of 18- to 30-year-olds who say the social and political content they see insocial media mainly makes them feel:
African Americans

44%

31%

Latinos

53%

Motivated

64%

Frustrated
Whites

0%

16%

81%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

RESPONSE TO POLITICAL CONTENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA, BY RACE/ETHNICITY
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who often or sometimes see
social and political content on social media
When you encounter social or politicalcontent on social media, which comescloser to describing how you feel?

White

Black

LatinoWorn out

77a

56b

64b

Energized

21a

42b

31ab

Frustrated

81a

53b

64b

Motivated

16a

44b

31b

Informed

54a

71b

53a

Confused

43a

28b

45a

Interested

51a

62b

67b

Bored

46a

37ab

31b

Worn out v. energized

Frustrated v. motivatedInformed v. confusedInterested v. bored

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Relationship to political ideology:
Millennials across the political spectrum are equally likely to say they feel worn out and frustrated by political discussions in social media, but liberals are most likely to say they feelinformed and interested, rather than confused or bored. For example, only 26% of liberals
say political social media content makes them feel bored, compared to 45% of moderates and
42% of conservatives.
RESPONSE TO POLITICAL CONTENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA, BY RACE/ETHNICITY
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who often or sometimes see
social and political content on social media
When you encounter social or politicalcontent on social media, which comescloser to describing how you feel?

LiberalModerate

Conservative

Worn out

70

69

71

Energized

28

28

27

Frustrated

73

73

72

Motivated

24

25

26

Informed

74a

49b

62ab

Confused

25a

49b

35ab

Interested

73a

52b

54b

Bored

26a

45b

42b

Worn out v. energized

Frustrated v. motivatedInformed v. confusedInterested v. bored36

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Millennials say the political discussions they see on social
media are less respectful and trustworthy than those they see inother forms of media.
Different forms of media offer different formats for discussion of political issues. Newspapers, for example, include editorials, opinion pieces, and letters to the editor; talk radio
includes a host, possible guests, and call-in comments from the audience; television often
includes vociferous panel discussions among political partisans. Social media offer uniqueaffordances: the chance for anyone, not just “experts,” to offer political posts, unlimited room
for comments, and links to various forms and sources of information. In addition to the affordances of media varying, the tone of political discussion across different media can vary as
well. In this survey, we asked respondents a broad set of questions about their opinions about
the political discussions they encounter in social media as opposed to those they encounter inother media. Specifically, respondents were asked whether they find political discussions insocial media more or less trustworthy, respectful, relevant, and informative than those inother forms of media.
About half of Millennials who see social/political content on social media say they find political discussions in social media to be less respectful (53%) and less trustworthy (47%) thanthose they see in other media, such as television, radio, and newspapers. About a quarter say
the respectfulness and trustworthiness are about the same as in other media (25% and 28%
respectively).
Interestingly, Millennials do not find political
discussion on social media to be more relevant or
informative than those they see in other media. The
use of algorithms to highlight content the user isinterested in, and the ability to selectively pick what
to click on and pursue, does not seem to havesucceeded in many Millennials’ views. In fact, Millennials are more likely to say political discussions
in social media are less relevant and less informative than those they see in other media.

A majority of Millennials
ﬁnd political discussions insocial media less respectfulcompared to TV, radio, andprint media.

37

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONPOLITICAL DISCUSSIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA VS. OTHER MEDIA
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who often or sometimes see
social and political content on social media
Are the political discussions you see on social media more or
less…than the political discussions you see in other types of
media (such as on television, radio, or in newspapers)?
More

Less

About the same

Informative

21

33

31

Respectful

7

53

25

Relevant to you

24

27

34

Trustworthy

9

47

28

Demographic differences:
Age and gender. The only difference in how younger vs. older Millennials compare political
discussions on social media to those in other media is that younger ones (18-24) find thesocial media discusssions more “relevant” to them than their older counterparts (25-30) do.
A third (33%) of 18- to 24-year-olds say political discussions on social media are more relevant to them than those in other media, compared to 23% of 25- to 30-year-olds. (A third ofboth age groups say such discussions are actually less relevant to them, and the rest say they
are about the same as discussions in other media). Men are more likely than women to say
such discussions are “less informative” than those in other media (45% of men say that, compared to 32% of women); this is the only difference by gender.
Race/ethnicity. There are a number of differences in how Millennials of different races andethnicities assess the political discussions they see in social media. Black and Latino Millennials consider social media discussions to be more informative than those in other media,
while Whites find them less so (47% of Whites say they are less informative, compared to 26%
of Blacks and 29% of Latinos). Whites also find such discussions less trustworthy than Blacks
or Latinos do (62% of Whites say they are less trustworthy than other media, compared to
45% of Blacks and 49% of Latinos). And Whites also consider political discussions in social
media less respectful than Blacks or Latinos do (68% say they are less respectful than othermedia, compared to 50% of Blacks and 54% of Latinos). There is no difference in relevance by
race/ethnicity or gender.

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Relationship to political ideology:
Conservative Milelnnials are much less at home in the political discussions on social media
than their liberal counterparts are. Liberals are far more likely to find such discussions informative (33% vs. 13% of conservatives) and relevant (39% vs. 21% of conservatives). Conservatives are more likely to say they are less respectful (74%) and less trustworthy (70%) thanthose they see in other media (compared to 62% and 55% of liberals, respectively).
These data point to an interesting conundrum. On the one hand, Millennials are frequently
using social media and are likely to see content related to social and political issues via social
media. On the other hand, Millennials are likely to view this content and the discussions thatensue online in largely negative terms. In general, they are more likely to view related discussions as less respectful than the discussions they see generated by traditional media. They
are also likely to view such discussions on social media as less trustworthy than the discussions they see in traditional media. In other words, the medium through which they are most
likely to encounter social and political issues—social media—is also the medium they find lessrespectful and trustworthy when it comes to political discussion. This should raise some serious concerns for the owners of social media platforms about the kinds of communities, conversations, and norms that have come to define the social media experiences of Millennials.

39

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONPOLITICAL DISCUSSIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA VS. OTHER MEDIA, BY DEMOGRAPHICS
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who often or sometimes see social and political content on social media
Are the political discussions you see on social media more or less…than the political discussions you see in other types of media (such as on television, radio, or in newspapers)?
18-24

25-30

Male

Female

White

Black

Latino

More

28

20

25

24

18a

36b

31b

Less
Same

35

42

45a

32b

47a

26b

29b

36

37

30a

43b

35

37

39

More

7

10

10

6

5a

16b

11b

Less
Same

64

59

64

59

68a

50b

54b

30

30

26

34

27

34

34

More

33a

23b

30

26

26

31

30

Less
Same

32

31

34

29

31

30

37

34a

46b

35a

45b

43a

38ab

30b

More

13

9

14

8

11

14

11

Less
Same

55

57

54

57

62a

45b

49b

32

34

32

35

27a

41b

40b

Informative

Respectful

Relevant

Trustworthy

40

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONTABLE: POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA VS. OTHER MEDIA, BY IDEOLOGY
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who often or sometimes see social and political content on social media
LiberalModerate

Conservative

More

33a

23ab

13b

Less
Same

30a

37a

59b

37

39

28

More

8

10

5

Less
Same

62ab

55a

74b

31ab

35b

21a

More

39a

25b

21b

Less
Same

23a

36b

36b

37

39

43

More

10

13

9

Less
Same

55a

53a

70b

35a

34ab

22b

Informative

Respectful

Relevant

Trustworthy

Some Millennials have been harassed on social media due totheir social or political views.
Overall, among those who use social media, 16% say they have ever been the target of hostileor harassing messages because of social or political views they expressed on social media.
There are no differences by age, gender, or race/ethnicity.

Most millennials don’t feel a strong sense of political empowerment from social media.
Only 4% of those who use social media “strongly agree” that social media helps them havemore influence on government or corporate decisions (26% agree “somewhat”). But nearly
half (48%) agree at least “somewhat” that social media helps them feel more empowered to atleast express their views, if not actually influence decisions. As with the findings pointing to alower level of individual than collective political efficacy among Millennials, these findings
also indicate that Millennials see the limits to their ability, as individuals, to impact government or corporate decisions. While they believe that social media have helped them express

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

their views, they are less certain about whether it has helped them influence government or
corporate policy.
Those who often post social or poltical content online are more likely to feel politicallyempowered by their social media use. For example, 71% of those who “often” or “sometimes”
post political content online say social media helps them feel more empowered to express
their views, compared to 25% of those who never post such content. Simiarly, 48% of thefrequent political posters say social media helps them have more influence over governmentand corporate decisions, compared with 20% of those who never post about such issues. The
data from this survey does not explain whether their sense of social media’s empowerment
leads them to post more political content on social media, or their frequent posting leads to agreater sense of empowerment.
Social Media And Social/Political Empowerment
Strongly
agree

Somewhatagree

SomewhatdisagreeStrongly
disagreeSocial media helps me feel more empowered
to express my views about important issues

14

34

29

22

Social media helps me have more inﬂuence on
government or corporate decisions

4

26

34

35

Among those who use social media,
percent who agree/disagree that:

Demographic differences:
Younger Millennials are more likely to agree thatsocial media helps them feel more empowered toexpress their views (55% agree at least somewhat,compared to 41% of older Millennials). And men
are more likely than women to say social media
gives them more influence on government or
corporate decisions (35% vs. 26% agree at least
somewhat). The biggest demographic differences
are by race: African Americans are quite a bit more

Black Millennials are more
likely than White or Latino
Millennials to believe thatsocial media gives them moreinﬂuence over government or
corporate decisions.

likely to say they feel more empowered to express their views about important issues thanks
to social media (62% agree at least somewhat, compared to 46% of Whites and 42% of
Latinos). Black Millennials are also the most likely to say that social media actually gives
them more influence over government or corporate decisions (42%, compared to 25% ofWhites and 35% of Latinos).

42

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONSOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL/POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT, BY RACE/ETHNICITY
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who use social media, percent agree
that it helps them:Feel more empowered to express
views about important issues

42%

Have more inﬂuence on goverment or copperate decisions

25%

35%

46%
62%

White
LatinoBlack

42%0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Relationship to political ideology:
Liberals are more likely than conservatives to feel empowered to express their views throughsocial media, and to feel that it gives them more influence on government or corporate
decisions. For example, 66% of liberals compared to 46% of conservatives say that social
media makes them feel more empowered to express their views about important issues.
Similarly, liberals (36%) are more likely than conservatives (27%) to say that social media
helps them have more influence on government or corporate decisisions.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL/POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT, BY IDEOLOGY
Among 18- to 30-year-olds who use social media, percent agree
that it helps them:Feel more empowered to express
views about important issues
Have more inﬂuence on goverment or copperate decisions

46%
45%

27%

32%
36%

66%

Conservative
Moderate
Liberal0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

43INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Many millennials have taken online actions or used social
media to make their social or political views known.
A majority (54%) have signed an online petition, and one in four say they have become more
involved in a social or political issue because of something they saw in social media (28%) or
donated to a social cause online (24%). One in five have participated in social media
campaigns to support or oppose a particular brand (21%), and to influence a government
decision or action (19%).
Using Social Media For Social/Political Action
Among 18-30 year-olds, percent who have ever:
Signed an online petition

54

Become more involved in a social or political issue
because of something you saw on social media

28

Donated to a social cause online

24

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular product or brand

21

54% of Millennials havesigned an online petition.

21% of Millennials haveparticipated in a social media

Participated in a social media campaign to inﬂuencea government decision or action

19

Participated in a social media campaign to inﬂuencea corporate decision or action

17

Learned about a political gathering online that you
later attended in person

16

campaign to oppose or support
a particular product or brand

28 % of Millennials havebecome involved in a politicalissue because of something theysaw on social media.

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular TV show or movie

15

Started or joined a political group on a social
network site

11

Donated to a political candidate online

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Demographic differences:
For most of the social/political online actions asked about in this survey, there were nodifferences between demographic groups in the likelihood of having taken those actions.
There were no differences by age, gender, or race/ethnicity in the proportion of Millennials
who have ever donated to a political candidate online, donated to a social cause, learned
about a political gathering online that they later attended in person, become more involvedin an issue they first learned about online, started or joined a political group online, or
supported or opposed a product or brand on social media. The only difference by age wasthat 18- to 24-year-olds are more likely than 25- to 30-year-olds to have participated in asocial media campaign to oppose or support a particular TV show or movie (19% vs. 12%).
Whites are most likely to have signed an online petition (60% vs. 52% for Blacks and 45% forLatinos), while African Americans are most likely to have participated in a social media
campaign to influence either a corporate decision or action (26% vs. 17% of Whites and 16%
of Latinos) or a government decision or action (25% vs. 19% of Whites and 15% of Latinos).
Relationship to political ideology:
Far more than any demographic
differences being predictive of online
political activity, political ideology isstrongly related. Millennials who consider
themselves liberals are far more likely thanthose who say they are moderates orconservatives to have participated in every
type of online political/social activity aked
about in this survey, from the one in five(19%) who say they’ve donated to apolitical candidate online up to the three

Liberal Millennials are much more
likely than Conservative Millennials tohave participated in a wide range of
online political activities such as
making an online donation to a political candidate, signing online petitions,or becoming involved in an issue
because of something they saw
online.

out of four (74%) who say they’ve signed an online petition. Nearly half (48%) say they’ve
become more involved in a social or political issues because of something they saw on social
media; moderates are half as likely to have done so (24%), and conservatives even less so(17%).

45

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Using Social Media For Social/Political Action
Among 18-30 year-olds, percent who have ever:

LiberalModerate

Conservative

Signed an online petition

74a

47b

46b

Become more involved in a social or political issue
because of something you saw on social media

48a

24b

17b

Donated to a social cause online

40a

19b

18b

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular product or brand

31a

20b

16b

Participated in a social media campaign to inﬂuencea government decision or action

36a

16b

8b

Participated in a social media campaign to inﬂuencea corporate decision or action

32a

17b

6c

Learned about a political gathering online that you
later attended in person

27a

14b

8b

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular TV show or movie

24a

15b

9b

Started or joined a political group on a social
network site

20a

9b

8b

Donated to a political candidate online

19a

8b

2b

Relationship to posting of political content on social media:
Not surprisingly, Millenials who ‘often or sometimes’ post political content on social media
are much more likely than those who ‘never’ do to have also engaged in other onlinesocial/political actions, including:• sign an on-line petition (69% to 43%)
• become more involved in a social or political issue because of something they saw onsocial media (56% to 13%)
• donate to a social cause online (38% to 11%)• participate in a social media campaign to oppose or support a particular product orbrand (40% to 8%)

46

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION•

participate in a social media campaign to influence a government decision or action (37%
to 8%)•

participate in a social media campaign to influence a corporate decision or action (33% to6%)•learn about a political gathering online that they later attended in person (33% to 4%)•

participate in a social media campaign to oppose or support a particular TV show or
movie (31% to 4%)•

start or join a political group on a social network site (24% to 3%)•

donate to a political candidate online (18% compared to 5%)

Using Social Media For Social/Political Action, By Frequency Of Posting On Social Media
Often/
sometimes post
political content

Hardly everdoNever doSigned an online petition

69a

54b

43b

Become more involved in a social or political issue
because of something you saw on social media

56a

23b

13c

Donated to a social cause online

38a

27b

11c

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular product or brand

40a

20b

8c

Participated in a social media campaign to inﬂuencea government decision or action

37a

16b

8c

Participated in a social media campaign to inﬂuencea corporate decision or action

33a

17b

6c

Learned about a political gathering online that you
later attended in person

33a

11b

4c

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular TV show or movie

31a

14b

4c

Started or joined a political group on a social
network site

24a

9b

3c

Donated to a political candidate online

18

10

5

Among 18-30 year-olds, percent who have ever:47

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

These findings are consistent with those discussed in Part Six on offline political activity thatstrongly suggests that Millennials who post content about social and political issues on social
media tend to be much more politically active than their counterparts who do not post suchcontent. Importantly, some of the items above suggests that this greater activity translates toboth online (i.e., signed an online petition) and offline (i.e., attended a political gathering inperson) engagement. Again, these findings do not identify causation, but they do show astrong relationship between posting political content online and using social media as a platform to participate in a range of political activities. Most of those who are posting about political issues online are going even further and engaging in both online and offline politicalactivities.

Most Millennials don’t see social media as an “echo chamber” oflike-minded users. A majority believe that their social media
sites expose them to people with social or political views different from their own and help them better understand the perspectives of people they disagree with.
More than two-thirds of Millennials (67%) agree that their social media use exposes them topeople with different social or political perspectives, and 61% agree that social media helps
them understand those people’s views better. Roughly the same portion agree that social
media is an important tool for connecting with people who care about the same issues they do(62%). In other words, at the same time that Millennials are using social media to connect
with like-minded people, they are also being exposed to, and coming to better understand,people with whom they differ. Far fewer say that they’ve had problems with people becauseof political disagreements on social media, although more than a third do say that has
happened (37%).

A majority of Millennials
believe that their use ofsocial media exposes themto diﬀerent social or political perspectives.

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Agreeing And Disagreeing About Politics On Social Media
Strongly
agree

Somewhatagree

SomewhatdisagreeStrongly
disagree

When I use social media, I am usually exposedto people with social or political views that are
diﬀerent from mine

24

43

20

12

Social media is an important way for me toconnect with people who care about the same
issues I do

18

44

23

15

Social media has helped me better understandthe perspectives of people I disagree with

12

49

24

14

I have had problems with people I know
because of political disagreements we’ve hadon social media

10

27

28

34

Among those who use social media,
percent who agree/disagree that:

Demographic differences:
The only demographic differences on these issues are that Black Millennials are more likely
to say that social media are an important way to connect with like-minded people (71%,compared to 60% of Whites and Latinos), and to say that social media also help them better
understand the views of people they disagree with (70%, compared to 60% of Whites andLatinos).
Relationship to political ideology:
Liberals and conservatives have similar experiences in social media helping them be exposed
to and better understand people with views different from their own. However, liberals are
far more likely to say that social media is an important way for them to connect with people
who care about the same issues they do (73% vs. 52% of conservatives), and they are also
more likely to report having had problems with people they know due to political
disagreements they’ve had on social media (46% vs. 29% of conservatives).

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Relationship to political use of social media:
Millennials who “often” or “sometimes” post political
Millennials who ‘often orcontent on social media vary significantly from thosesometimes’ post political
who “never do” when it comes to exposure to different
content to social media are
viewpoints through social media. Contrary to popular
much more likely thanbelief, Millennials who post political content on social
those who ‘never do’ tomedia “often” or “sometimes” do not believe they live
believe that social media
in a social media echo chamber.
For example,
exposes them to people
Millenials who “often” or “sometimes” post politicalwith political views that arecontent on social media are much more likely thandiﬀerent from theirs.
those that “never do” to report being exposed to people
with different views and having disagreements online. Millennials who post political content“often” or “sometimes” are more likely than those that “never do” to:• be exposed on social media to people with social or political views that are different
from theirs (79% compared to 55%);• believe social media has helped them better understand the perspectives of people they
disagree with (75% to 53%); and• have had problems with people they know because of political disagreements they have
had on social media (56% to 19%).
Agreeing And Disagreeing About Politics On Social Media
Among those who use social media,
percent who agree:

Often/
Sometimes post Hardly ever dopolitical content

Never doWhen I use social media, I am usually
exposed to people with social or politicalviews that are diﬀerent from mine

79a

69a

55b

Social media has helped me better
understand the perspectives of people I
disagree with

75a

57b

53b

I have had problems with people I know
because of political disagreements we’ve
had on social media

56a

39b

19c

50

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONCONCLUSION
This survey documents the universality of social media usage among the Millennial
generation, as well as the evolving and expanding roles it plays in Millennials’ lives. But thesurvey also uncovers some fascinating differences in how members of this generation engage
with, respond to, and feel about social media. Millennials, despite wide public perception, areincredibly diverse in their social media experiences and behaviors.
Ninety-five percent of Millennials use social media, more than eight in ten use it every day,and a majority use it many times a day. For more than two-thirds of Millennials, going online
through a smartphone is the primary mode of connectivity. One reason Millennials engage
with social media so frequently is that the social media experience is no longer simply about
posting pictures of recent activities to share with friends or keep family members up-to-date.
As social media evolves, we now see the diversity of ways it matters in people’s lives: for
informal learning, entertainment, access to news and information, participating in civic andpolitical life, and to connect to people with whom they share common interests. And thisappears to be especially true for African Americans as discussed below.
SOCIAL MEDIA: A SOURCE OF NEWS FOR MILLENNIALSThe evolution of social media into a source of news is particularly noteworthy. Social media
has far surpassed other sources of news among Millennials, with nearly a third saying they
get most of their news from social media, compared to less than ten percent from network or
cable television, and just one percent from print. Of course, news that is accessed throughsocial media often originates from traditional news sources, but, as we know too well fromrecent headlines, it often does not. Clearly, social media has become the dominant conduit
for news among this generation. The potential impact of inaccurate news from unreliable
sources is great. And news organizations need to understand that the future of news
production, circulation and public engagement must be based on the fact that news
consumers will get most of their news from social media. This has implications for the kindsof resources that news organizations invest in to remain relevant in what can only bedescribed as a steady and historic sea shift in the consumption of news. Our findings related
to Millennials’ news consumption behaviors are also interesting in light of announcementsfrom Facebook (January 2018) that it will limit the amount of content from news
organizations that circulates via its users’ newsfeeds.
51

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONSOCIAL MEDIA: A SOURCE OF CIVIC AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT FORMILLENNIALS
Related to their reliance on social media for news, Millennials are also now using social
media as a means of civic and political engagement. About eight in ten say that posts anddiscussions about social or political issues are part of their social media feeds, and one inthree say they themselves post about such issues. Many have used social media to sign online
petitions, donate to candidates or causes, or try to influence government policies. More than
one in four say they have become more involved in social or political issues because of something they first saw in social media. This is an important shift in how we think about the
future of civic life and political participation. Rather than dismiss civic engagement throughsocial media as weak or passive it is clear from this survey that such activities are becoming afact of life in the formation of Millennials’ civic identities and practices.
It is often suggested that people who are politically active online are engaging in “clicktivism,” a term that is used derisively to suggest a more passive and ineffectual form of politicalactivity than offline activism. But our data suggest a more complex dynamic. Online andoffline political activity seem to go together – the same people are likely to be involved inboth. There doesn’t appear to be one type of person who is active politically online, andanother type who is active offline. And in fact, the connections and information Millennials
access about social and political issues online often lead them to take offline actions, and help
them feel more politically empowered. In other words, rather than reflecting soft or no
engagement at all with offline political activities, Millennials who most often post social andpolitical content on their social media are actually more active in offline political life.
SOCIAL MEDIA: TOXIC NORMS AND POLITICAL DISCUSSIONSYet it is also clear that, despite their increasing reliance on social media for political content,
most Millennials are deeply dissatisfied with the tone of the political discussions theyencounter there. The vast majority say the political dialogue in social media leaves them feeling frustrated and worn out, and about half say such content is less respectful or trustworthy
than what they see, hear, or read in other forms of media. And despite the ability of social
media to target content for users, Millennials don’t find the political content they encounterin social media to be more relevant or informative than what they see in other media.
Indeed, one of the great promises of social media was that the content would be more personalized than in other media. Users decide who to follow and what to click on. Algorithms aremeant to target content likely to be of interest to the user. Yet the kinds of political environ-

52

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

ments being created on social media are wearing people out. This speaks, more broadly, totrends that social media companies and news organizations should be concerned about:namely, the deterioration of community and conversation in online forums. While significant portions of Millennials get their news from and see social and political issues on social
media, they are also likely to develop negative sentiments regarding the content and related
discussions. There may be several reasons for this, including the deliberate use of bots tomanipulate conversations, the deliberate circulation of misinformation or “fake news” that
intends to amplify divisions, or simply the presence of hostile and disrespectful norms forming online.
Our findings support the rising demand that social media and technology companies address
the toxic norms and practices—bullying, harassment, hate speech, and fake news—that
undermine our connected lives. Our findings suggest that Millennials are mindful of thedownside of social media and are likely concerned about it. Also, the data above bolsters theclaims by some critics that current trends in social media use undermine deliberate debate
and civic discourse. It is clear that social media companies should work to design policies,
features, and procedures that help build and sustain more hospitable online communities
and conversations. Doing so, as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg notes, must be their top
priority if they are to remain relevant and meaningful in people’s lives. 6
MILLENNIALS USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IS DIVERSE AND COMPLEX
As social media becomes an important component of so many aspects of Millennials’ lives,
important differences between different types of Millennials are emerging. This can be as
basic as the reliance on different social media networks among different demographic
groups. A majority of older Millennials say Facebook is their top social networking site, anda majority of younger Millennials do not. A majority of Whites say they use Facebook mostoften, a majority of Millennials of color use some other site most often.
The Social Media Behaviors of African Americans
But beyond site preference, there are also dramatic differences in how Millennials use social
media and in their attitudes about social media in their lives. One of the most marked andconsistent differences concerns African American Millennials: social media is a much more
integral part of their lives overall, and they have a far more positive valence toward political
6
Manjoo,Farhad. 2018. The Diﬃculties With Facebook’s News Feed Overhaul.
The New York Times, January 12.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/technology/facebook-news-feed-overhaul.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Ffarhad-manjoo&action=click&contentCollection=undeﬁned&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection

53

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

content in social media than other Millennials do. Millennials of all races visit their social
media sites on a daily basis; but African Americans are far more likely to post every day. Millennials of all races say social media is very important to them for staying in touch with family
and friends; but African American Millennials are far more likely to say social media is very
important in their life for learning about things that interest them, accessing news and information about current events, connecting to people who share their interests, and promoting
their business or work life. And African Americans respond far more positively to the socialand political content in social media, saying they feel motivated, energized, and empoweredby such content.
Black Millennials are also much more likely than their White and Latino counterparts to saythat they “often” post content related to social or political issues on social media. They also
exhibit higher levels of collective political efficacy than their White counterparts. And they
are far more likely than Whites to say that their use of social media helps them have more
influence on government decisions. What our data cannot explain, however, is whether or
not this higher sense of collective political efficacy is a result of increasing social media anddirect activism or, vice versa, social media and direct activism is a result of a stronger senseof collective political efficacy. Whatever the causal dynamics one things is clear, activism—direct and digital—and collective political efficacy are connected.
Trends like these point to a pivotal shift in what has long been characterized by researchersand policymakers as the “digital divide” or the formation of the “technology rich” and the“technology poor.” More specifically, a key and consistent finding throughout our data analysis is that African American Millennials use social media more frequently than their White
counterparts and for a wider variety of activities. Further, our findings suggests that African
Americans are more likely to feel empowered, informed, and motivated by their use of social
media. As a result of findings like these we believe that researchers, educators, and policy
makers should begin to view African Americans as active, trend-setting, and empowered
when it comes to their use of social media.
Liberal and Conservative Millennials’ Use of Social Media Vary
Another significant finding from the survey is that liberal Millennials are engaging withsocial and political content in social media far more than moderates or conservatives. Liberals see much more political content, post more political content, use social media more often
to connect with like-minded people, and are far more likely to say they feel informed, interested, and empowered by social and political content in social media.
54

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONMILLENIALS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL EFFICACY
In addition to being a generation that is highly engaged with social media, Millennials believe
they can change the world. Indeed, 80% say that dramatic change could occur in this country
if their generation bands together and demands it, and three out of four think they have apretty good understanding of the important political issues facing the nation. Our data suggest that Millennials are much more likely to believe that they can make an impact collectively rather than individually, underscoring a recognition on their part that social change
requires a collective rather than individual effort. Further, consistent with other findings
throughout our study, African American Millennials expressed a signifcanly higher degree ofexternal collective political efficacy. In other words, African American Millennials believethat as a group their generation can compel those in power to respond to their expressed concerns. This is a generation of young people who are hopeful, engaged, and, with social media,
empowered with new tools to connect, learn, and act. The widespread adoption of social
media has serious implications for the future of civic life and political participation. Rather
than dismiss Millennials’ use of social media to stay informed or to get involved as passive or
ineffective, educators, policy makers, and tech designers would be better served learning how
to harness these practices to build more equitable and sustainable communities.

55

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONMETHODOLOGYThis report presents the main findings from a nationally-representative, probability-based
survey of 1,010 respondents age 18 to 30 years old in the U.S. The survey project was conceived and directed by S. Craig Watkins, PhD Professor in the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. The research was funded through a generous grant
provided by the MacArthur Foundation and the Digital Media Learning Hub at the University of California at Irvine. Questionnaire design was conducted by Victoria Rideout of VJRConsulting and Watkins. Vendor selection and data analysis was conducted by Rideout. The
survey was fielded by NORC at the University of Chicago. This report was written by Ms.
Rideout under the direction of Professor Watkins, and edited by Professor Watkins. The
topline results for the full survey are available in the Appendix of this report
Basic information on the survey. The survey was conducted from September 27-October 21, 2017, using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak® Panel. The survey was offered
via the web in English and Spanish. The full sample of 1,010 respondents includes oversamples of African-American (300) and Latino (300) respondents. The over-samples werecollected to provide greater power for analyses within those subgroups. Responses fromthose subgroups were then weighted down to their natural incidence for analyses of the fullgeneral population sample. The design effect for the survey is 2.27, and the margin of sampling error for the full sample is 4.64%. The Survey Completion Rate, calculated in compliance with the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency
Initiative, is 27.9%. This figure indicates the percent of final respondents among eligible
respondents who finished the screener. Panelists were offered the cash equivalent of $5 forcompleting the survey. On October 19 the incentive was increased to $10 to boost cooperation from Latino and African-American non-respondents.
Survey sample and weighting. The AmeriSpeak Panel® is a probability-based panel
designed to be representative of the U.S. household population. Randomly selected U.S.
households are sampled with a known, non-zero probability of selection from the NORC
National Frame, and then contacted by U.S. mail, telephone interviewers, overnight express
mailers, and field interviewers (face to face). Recruitment is a two-stage process: initial
recruitment using less expensive methods and then non-response follow-up using personal
interviewers. The non-response follow-up improves the representativeness of the AmeriSpeak sample with respect to certain demographic segments, including but not limited torural and/or lower income households, cellphone-only households, persons age 18 to 34,
African Americans, Latinos, and persons without a high school degree or those who have only
56

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONa high school degree (no college). The resulting data are weighted to reflect external population totals, obtained from the 2017 Current Population Survey of the U.S. Census, for age,sex, education, race/Latino ethnicity, housing tenure, telephone status, and Census Division.
Oversamples of African American and Latino respondents are scaled down to match therace/ethnicity proportions within the 18- to 30-year-old general population.
Definition of Millennials. There are no official definitions of generations, but the term“Millennial” has been applied to the generation that came of age or was born around the turnof the century. While the birth years for this informally-defined generation can range from1982 to 2004 (or ages 13 to 35 in the year 2017), for the purposes of this study the population
was defined as those who were ages 18 to 30 years old in 2017 (born between 1987 and 1999).
Also in this report, the terms African American and Black are used interchangeably to referto self-identified non-Latino persons of African descent.
Socio-economic status (SES). Surveys typically assess respondents’ socio-economic
status by highest level of education achieved and through estimates of household income.
For adolescents, those measures are usually based on highest parental level of education andhousehold income. However, for a population that ranges in age from 18 to 30 years old,
measures of educational attainment and household income are not reliable indicators of SES.
During this stage of life, many respondents are still in the process of completing their education, and educational attainment can be more closely correlated with age than with SES.
Household income is also an unreliable measure, since the circumstances of individuals vary
in ways that annual income may not always reflect. Some respondents may be supported bytheir wealthy parents while they attend graduate school, some may be supporting themselveswith part-time jobs while attending college but living at home, others may have a spouse,children, a mortgage and a two-income household. Therefore, we developed a question
designed to reveal respondents’ own sense of their economic circumstances, whether they
are living at home after graduating from high school, living in a dorm and attending college,or supporting a family. We asked respondents: How satisfied are you with your current economic situation? And allowed them to select from the response options very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied. While this measure has not beenexternally validated, we found it to be a useful proxy for SES for our analyses. Findings
should be considered in this light.
Statistical significance. Where relevant, differences among demographic groups havebeen tested for statistical significance. Findings are referred to in the text in a comparative
manner (e.g., “more likely to,” “less often”) only if the difference is statistically significant at
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

the level of p<.05 (i.e., differences as great as those noted would occur by chance no morethan five times in 100). In tables where statistical significance has been tested, superscripts
indicate whether results differ at p<.05. Only those items with different superscripts differ
significantly. Items that share a common superscript, or that have no superscript, do notdiffer significantly. For example, in Row 1 below, none of the items differs in a statisticallyreliable way. In Row 2, each item differs from the other significantly. In Row 3, the items in
the first and third columns differ from the item in the second column, but not from eachother. And in Row 4, items in Columns 1 and 3 differ from each other, but not from Column
2.
Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Row 1

72%

68%

76%

Row 2

35%a

25%b

15%c

Row 3

53%a

20%b

60%a

Row 4

40%a

35%ab

43%b

Data analysis. Several stages of data analysis were conducted for this report. First, we
explored distributions of the responses to each major question or sub-question, using
descriptive statistics such as the mean. The bulk of the data presented in this report rely onthese descriptive statistics. Second, we explored whether there were differences in any findings by demographic variables including age, gender, race/ethnicity, or SES (economic satisfaction). Next, we analyzed responses based on non-demographic variables such as self-defined political ideology (i.e., liberal, moderate, or conservative). We also created scales anddivided respondents into groups based on level of social media use, level of political social
media use, attitudes toward political content in social media, sense of political efficacy, andlevel of off-line political involvement. We then conducted bivariate or multivariate analyses
where appropriate, to test for associations between a variable such as level of social media
usage, attitude, or political activity level and a demographic variable (such as age, gender, or
race/ethnicity) or other scaled variable (e.g. relationship between offline political involvement and political social media usage).
Future reports and analyses. This report summarizes findings concerning social media
usage and the social-political behaviors and attitudes of respondents. A second report
exploring the use of social media for economic or career-related purposes will be released at
a later date. Additional analyses on the data presented in the current report will be conducted by researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, under the direction of S. Craig Watkins.
58

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONTOPLINES
N=1010 respondents ages 18-30
Q1. Which of the following best describes your current work situation. Are you currently:
Working full time

45

Working part time26

Unemployed/laid oﬀ

5

A full-time parent or homemaker6

Not working, other18

Q2. Are you currently attending school?
Yes, attending school full time

29

Yes, attending school part time

11

No, not currently enrolled in school

61

Q3. What is the highest level of education you have completed?
Less than high school

7

High school diploma or GED

27

Some college

40

Bachelor’s degree

20

Advanced degree

659INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q3A. Are you…
Married24

Widowed*Divorced

1

Separated2

Never married

57

Living with partner

15

Q4. Which best describes your living situation:
I live in a college dorm

6

I live with my parents

24

I share a house or apartment with roommates

15

I live with a spouse/partner

38

I live alone

13

Other

4

The next question is about your total income for 2016. Please count your income before taxes andfrom all sources (such as wages, salaries, tips, net income from a business, interest, dividends, money
received from family members, alimony or child support, Social Security, or public assistance).
Q5. Was your total personal income in 2016…
Less than $10,000

37$10,000 to 19,999

17$20,000 to $34,999

20$35,000 to $49,999

13$50,000 to $74,999

7$75,000 to $99,999

3$100,000 to $124,999

1$125,000 to $149,999*$150,000 or more*
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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q5A. How satisﬁed are you with your current ﬁnancial situation?
Very satisﬁed

8

Somewhat satisﬁed

39

Somewhat dissatisﬁed

28

Very dissatisﬁed

25

Q6. How conﬁdent are you about your future ﬁnancial prospects?
Very conﬁdent

25

Somewhat conﬁdent

51

Not too conﬁdent

18

Not at all conﬁdent

6

Q7. Which comes closest to describing your political views?
Very liberal

13

Somewhat liberal

17

Moderate38

Somewhat conservative

13

Very conservative

5

Other

13

Q8. When it comes to political elections, how often do you vote?
All the time

27

Some of the time

39

Hardly ever

14

Never

20

61

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q9. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
Strongly
agree

Somewhatagree

SomewhatdisagreeStrongly
disagree

I feel that I have a pretty goodunderstanding of the important politicalissues facing our country.

25

50

18

6

People like me don’t have any say about
what the government does.

19

37

33

11

Dramatic change could occur in thiscountry if my generation banded
together and demanded change.

38

43

15

4

People in my generation have the skills
to work together to achieve politicalgoals.

29

46

17

7

Yes

No

Attended a political rally or demonstration

21

79

Participated in-person in meetings or groups
working to address social or political issues

22

77

Q10. Have you ever done either of the following:Q11. People get their news about current events from many diﬀerent sources. How much news
about current events do you get from each of the following sources?
A lot

Some

Hardly any

None

Network television news shows (such as
CBS, NBC, ABC)

13

38

25

23

Cable television news shows (such as
CNN, Fox News, MSNBC)

14

33

27

26

Your local television news shows

13

34

26

27

Radio news

13

32

27

27

Print newspapers

4

18

32

44

Posts or links on social networking sites(like Facebook or Twitter)

34

36

17

12

News apps on a mobile device (such as
Buzzfeed, or a news organization’s app,such as CNN)

23

32

20

24

Online news sites (such as CNN.com,
NYTimes.com, Yahoo! News, Google News)

25

37

19

18

62

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q12. Which source do you get most of your news from?
Network television news shows (such as CBS, NBC, ABC)

9 (9.1)

Cable television news shows (such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC)

8Your local television news shows

7

Radio news

9 (8.5)1

Print newspapers

31News apps on a mobile device (such as Buzzfeed, or a news

9 (8.7)

Online news sites (such as CNN.com, NYTimes.com, Yahoo!
News, Google News)

16

Other (please specify)

3

Get hardly any or no news from any of these sources

7

Q13. Which of the following, if any, do you own:
Desktop computer

31

Laptop computer

73

Tablet46

Smartphone

93

None of the above

1

Q14. Do you have high speed internet service at your primary place of residence (other than the dataplan on your phone)?
Yes

86

No

14

63

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q15. What is the main way you go online:
Through a laptop computer

19

Through a desktop computer

8

Through a tablet

5

Through a smartphone

68

Q16. Which of the following social media sites, if any, do you use? Among all…..
Twitter

31

Facebook83

Snapchat

56

Instagram

61

LinkedIn

24

Reddit16

Pinterest

30

Tumblr11

Other – please specify

2

None – I don’t use social media

5[IF Q16≠10]
Q17. How often do you visit or use a social media site? Among all….
Many times a day

53

A few times a day

27

Once a day

6

A few times a week

6

Once a week

1

Less than once a week2

Doesn’t use social media

564

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[IF Q16≠10]
Q18. How often do you post or share something on a social media site (such as post a photo, share alink, or write a comment)? Among all…..
Many times a day

11

A few times a day

13

Once a day

9

A few times a week

17

Once a week7

Less than once a week

29

Never

7

Doesn’t use social media

5[If uses more than one social media site]
Q19. Which social media site do you use most often? Among all…
Twitter

7

Facebook

52

Snapchat

13

Instagram

13

LinkedIn

1

Reddit6

Pinterest2

Tumblr1

Other – please specify

1

Doesn’t use social media

565

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[IF Q16≠10]
Q20. In general, how important is social media in your life for: Among those who use…
Very
importantSomewhat
important

Not tooimportant

Not at allimportantEntertainment

25

42

25

8

Getting news or information about
current aﬀairs

19

46

27

8

Staying in touch with family and friends

46

36

10

6

Connecting to people who share yourinterests

20

39

31

10

Promoting your business or work life

14

26

28

31

Learning about things that interest you

31

47

13

9

Increasing the type of people andinformation you have access to

26

39

24

10

[IF Q16≠10]
Q21. Which of the following types of people or organizations do you follow on social media?
Among those who use….
Athletes or sports organizations

34

Actors/actresses

39

Friends

84

Family members

75

Journalists or news organizations

28

Singers/musicians49

Comedians

40

Political leaders

24

Social/political organizations

25

Television shows, ﬁlms or networks

44

Authors

20

Opinion leaders

16

Faith leaders

13

66

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[IF Q16= uses Facebook]
Q22. Some Facebook groups are “private” or “closed,” meaning you have to be accepted into thegroup to join, and only members can participate in posting or viewing content. Usually these groups
are people who share a common interest, for example a hobby, a type of job, a political perspective,
or a health condition. Have you ever joined a private or closed Facebook group? Please do notinclude groups that were formed just for the purpose of completing a project at school.
Among all…..
Yes

60

No

22

Don’t use Facebook

12

Don’t use social media

5[IF Q22=yes]
Q23. How many private or closed Facebook groups do you belong to?
Desktop computer

31

Laptop computer

73

Tablet46

Smartphone

93

None of the above

1[IF Q22=yes]
Q24. How often do you participate in online conversations with these groups? Among all….
Often

5

Sometimes

21

Hardly ever

26

Never

9

Don’t belong to private group22

Don’t use Facebook

16

Don’t use social media

567

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[If Q22=yes]
Q25. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about private or closed
Facebook groups:
Among those who belong to a private Facebook group
Strongly
agree

Somewhatagree

SomewhatdisagreeStrongly
disagreeNotapplicable

They have helped me perform my job better

6

19

16

10

48

They have helped me during a personal crisis

6

21

16

12

44

They have helped me develop close
relationships with others

9

27

15

12

36

I feel safer talking about certain issues
online in a private or closed group

10

30

13

14

33

I feel supported by the other membersof my private or closed Facebook groups

13

36

11

8

30

I feel disappointed by my interactions
with others in private Facebook groups

3

13

17

30

36

[If Q16≠10]
Q26. Have you ever done either of the following:Yes

No

Don’t usesocial media

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular TV show or movie

15

79

5

Participated in a social media campaign to opposeor support a particular product or brand

21

74

5

[If Q16≠10]
Q27. When you use social media, how often do you see posts or discussions about social or politicalissues? Among those who use…
Often

45

Sometimes

34

Hardly ever

11

Never

9

68

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[If Q16≠10]
Q28. How often do you post, share links, or comment about social or political issues on social media?
Among those who use…
Often

6

Sometimes

25

Hardly ever

33

Never

35

[If Q16≠10]
Q29. How much do you agree or disagree with each statement:
Among those who use…
Strongly
agree

Somewhatagree

SomewhatdisagreeStrongly
disagreeSocial media is an important way for me toconnect with people who care about thesame issues I do

18

44

23

15

Social media helps me feel more empowered
to express my views about important issues

14

34

29

22

I have had problems with people I know
because of political disagreements we’ve hadon social media

10

27

28

34

Social media helps me have more inﬂuence
on government or corporate decisions

4

26

34

35

Social media has helped me better
understand the perspectives of people I
disagree with

12

49

24

14

When I use social media, I am usually
exposed to people with social or politicalviews that are diﬀerent from mine

24

43

20

12

69

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q30. Have you ever done any of the following:
Yes
Donated to a political candidate online

10

Donated to a social cause online

24

Learned about a political gathering onlinethat you later attended in person

16

Signed an on-line petition

54[SHOW IF Q16=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] Participatedin a social media campaign to inﬂuence a
corporate decision or action (among all)17

[SHOW IF Q16=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] Participatedin a social media campaign to inﬂuence a
government decision or action (among all)

19

[SHOW IF Q16=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] Become
more involved in a social or political issue
because of something you saw on social
media (among all)28

[SHOW IF Q16=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] Started orjoined a political group on a social networksite (among all)11

Q31. How often do you read, listen to, or watch any blogs, podcasts, online newsletters, or video
channels about social or political issues?
Often

13

Sometimes

34

Hardly ever

30

Never

23

[SHOW IF Q27=1,2,3]
Q32A. When you encounter social or political content on social media, which comes closer todescribing how you feel? Among those who see social/political content in social media….
A. Worn out

70

Energized

27

B. Frustrated

72

Motivated

25

C. Informed

58

Confused40

D. Interested

57

Bored

41

70

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[SHOW IF Q27=1,2,3]
Q33. Are the political discussions you see on social media more or less__________________________ than the political discussions you see in other types of media (suchas on television, radio, or in newspapers)? Among those who see social/political content in social
media….
More

Less

About thesame

Informative

21

33

31

Respectful

7

53

25

Relevant to you

24

27

34

Trustworthy

9

47

28

[If Q16≠10]
Q34. Have you ever been the target of hostile or harassing messages because of social or politicalviews you expressed on social media? Among all….
Yes

16

No

79

Don’t use social media

5[If Q16≠10]
Q35. Have you ever used your social networking sites to: Among all….
Yes

No

Find out about available jobs

51

42

Don’t use social
media
5

Get career advice

34

60

5

Join an online community speciﬁcally to help
you ﬁnd work

27

67

5

Learn a new skill to help improve youremployment chances

32

62

5

Raise money to support a business you
started

985

5Promote your career or business

24

71

5

Sell a product you created

15

79

5

Sell a product that you didn’t create

21

73

5

71

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q36. Have you ever:
Yes

No

Earned money by taking on jobs through aservice-providing website or mobile app, such as
Task Rabbit, Uber, Lyft, or some similar site or app

1288

Rented out parts of your home through an
online site like AirBnB or HomeAway

495[SHOW IF Q35_7=1 OR Q35_8=1 OR Q36A=1 OR Q36B=1]
Q37. Which of the following statements best describes the income you earn from selling products orservices through social media or service-providing apps like Uber, Lyft, Task Rabbit, or AirBnB?
Among all….
It is essential

3

It’s an important part of my income, but not essential

8

It’s nice to have but I could live without it23

Don’t earn money this way

65[SHOW IF Q16≠10]
Q38. Have you made any major decisions about your career, work, or ﬁnancial situation over the past
two years? Among all….
Yes

49

No

45

Don’t use social media

5[SHOW IF Q38=1]
Q39. What role, if any, did your social media networks play in your decision-making about yourcareer, work, or ﬁnancial situation? Among all….
A major role6

A minor role

14

No role29

Didn’t make major decision

45

Don’t use social media

572

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[SHOW IF Q39=1 OR Q39=2]
Q40. In which ways, if any, did your social media networks help you in your decision-making about
your career, work, or ﬁnancial situation? Among all…
Connecting you to other people for advice or
sharing valuable experiences

9

Connecting you to professional or expert
advice9

Sharing valuable information about available
jobs

10

Sharing valuable information about
education or training

9

Introducing you to a prospective employer

7

Other

1

None – social media didn’t help my decision
making2

Didn’t make major decision

45

Don’t use social media

5[SHOW IF Q39=1 and MORE THAN ONE SELECTION IN (Q16=1-9)]
Q41. Which social media site played the most important role in your decision-making about yourcareer, work, or ﬁnancial situation?
Twitter*

Facebook

3

Snapchat*

Instagram*

LinkedIn

2

Reddit*Pinterest*

Tumblr-Other – please specify*

Social media didn’t play role2

Didn’t make major ﬁnancial decision

45

Doesn’t use social media

573

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION[SHOW IF Q39=1 OR Q39=2]
Q42. When you used social media to help improve your ﬁnancial or employment situation, did you
get help from: Among all…
People you know very well10

People you know only slightly

10

People you do not know at all

8[SHOW IF Q16=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
Q43. Are people in any of the following occupations part of your social media network, or not?
Among all….
Lawyers

23

Doctors

27

Computer programmers

33

Teachers

47

Police oﬃcers

24

Secretaries/administrative assistants

29

Retail salespeople

41

Cleaning people

19

Food servers

39

Construction workers

27

None of the above

24[SHOW IF Q14=1]
Q44. Do you ever make personal sacriﬁces to aﬀord Internet connectivity (such as eat out less, or savemoney in other ways)? Among all….
Yes, I often have to cut back in other areas to aﬀord my Internet service

8

I sometimes have to cut back in other areas to aﬀord my Internet service

18

I don’t have to worry about paying for my Internet service

58

Doesn’t have home Internet access

1474

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION

Q45. How dependent are you on publicly available Wi-Fi or hot spots to connect online?
Very dependent

10

Somewhat dependent24

Not too dependent33

Not dependent on them at all

33[SHOW IF Q13_3=1 OR Q13_4=1 OR Q14=1]
Q46. Following is a list of issues people sometimes encounter with technology. For each one, pleasemark if this is something that has happened to you in the past 12 months. Among all…
[SHOW IF Q13_4=1] Your cell phone service got cut oﬀ because it was
hard to pay for

14[SHOW IF Q14=1] Your Internet service got cut oﬀ at home because it
was hard to pay for

11[SHOW IF Q13_3=1 OR Q13_4=1] You reached the limit on your dataplan for a mobile device, and couldn’t go online for a while

27

None of the above

60

75