Pew Research Center

Results from a new survey of US adults reveal the extent to which people’s use of the internet has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, their views about how helpful technology has been for them and the struggles some have faced. The vast majority of adults (90%) say the internet has been at least important to them personally during the pandemic, the survey finds. The share who say it has been essential – 58% – is up slightly from 53% in April 2020.

According to a new Pew Research Center survey, overall, 54 percent of Americans say artificial intelligence programs that generate text and images, like ChatGPT and DALL-E, need to credit the sources they rely on to produce their responses. A much smaller share (14%) says the programs don’t need to credit sources. Generative AI programs work by reviewing large amounts of information, such as the works of an artist or news organization. That allows them to generate responses when users ask questions.

It’s been more than a year since ChatGPT’s public debut set the tech world abuzz. And Americans’ use of the chatbot is ticking up: 23 percent of US adults say they have ever used it, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February 2024, up from 18 percent in July 2023. The February survey also asked Americans about several ways they might use ChatGPT, including for workplace tasks, for learning and for fun.

Today’s teenagers are more digitally connected than ever. Most have access to smartphones and use social media, and nearly half say they are online almost constantly. But how are young people navigating this “always on” environment? To better understand their experiences, we surveyed both teens and parents on a range of screen time-related topics. Our questions explored the emotions teens tie to their devices, the impact of smartphones on youth, and the challenges parents face when raising children in the digital age. Key findings from the survey include:

A new Pew Research Center study matching the survey responses and on-site behaviors of US adult TikTok users finds that a minority of avid posters create the vast majority of content on the site. And most users post seldom, if at all—instead using TikTok primarily to view and consume content made by others. Among our key findings about how the American public is using TikTok:

In a far cry from the early 2000s, most US adults today say they use the internet (95%), have a smartphone (90%) or subscribe to high-speed internet at home (80%), according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted May 19 to Sept. 5, 2023. Though adoption of these technologies has surged over the past two decades, there are notable differences by age, household income and educational attainment. There are large gaps between the lowest- and highest-income Americans in whether they have a broadband subscription.

Social media platforms faced a range of controversies in recent years, including concerns over misinformation and data privacy. Even so, US adults use a wide range of sites and apps, especially YouTube and Facebook. And TikTok – which some Congress members previously called to ban – saw growth in its user base. According to a Pew Research Center survey of 5,733 U.S. adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023:

Despite negative headlines and growing concerns about social media’s impact on youth, teens continue to use these platforms at high rates—with some describing their social media use as “almost constant." Here’s a look at the key findings related to online platforms:

• YouTube continues to dominate. Roughly nine-in-ten teens say they use YouTube, making it the most widely used platform measured in our survey.

A small but growing share of U.S. adults say they regularly get news on TikTok. This is in contrast with many other social media sites, where news consumption has either declined or stayed about the same in recent years. In just three years, the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3 percent in 2020 to 14 percent in 2023. TikTok, primarily known for short-form video sharing, has become especially popular among teens—two-thirds of whom report ever using the platform—as well as young adults. More of TikTok’s U.S.

In an era where every click, tap or keystroke leaves a digital trail, Americans remain uneasy and uncertain about their personal data and feel they have little control over how it’s used. This wariness is even ticking up in some areas like government data collection, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted May 15-21, 2023. According to the study, Americans – particularly Republicans – have grown more concerned about how the government uses their data. The public increasingly says they don’t understand what companies are doing with their data.