Which Source Do You Trust Most?
Which do you trust most as a source of advice on important issues?
People tend to trust friends & family and the mainstream media far more than they trust websites & search engines.
| Vote | All (1204) |
|---|---|
| friends & family | 37.1%Â (+3.0 / -2.9) |
| newspapers | 32.5%Â (+3.0 / -2.8) |
| search engines | 19.3%Â (+2.6 / -2.4) |
| social media websites | 6.7%Â (+2.0 / -1.6) |
| weblogs | 4.4%Â (+1.9 / -1.3) |
Relative to one another, men tend to trust newspapers, search engines & weblogs more; whereas women tend to trust friends & family and social media websites more.
| Vote | Men (643) | Women (561) |
|---|---|---|
| friends & family | 34.7%Â (+4.0 / -3.8) | 39.4%Â (+4.6 / -4.4) |
| newspapers | 34.1%Â (+4.0 / -3.8) | 31.0%Â (+4.4 / -4.1) |
| search engines | 20.1%Â (+3.5 / -3.1) | 18.6%Â (+3.9 / -3.4) |
| social media websites | 5.7%Â (+2.5 / -1.8) | 7.6%Â (+3.3 / -2.3) |
| weblogs | 5.5%Â (+2.5 / -1.8) | 3.4%Â (+3.3 / -1.7) |
The youngest age group tends to trust social media a bit more & newspapers a bit less than other age groups do. Outside of that, it is somewhat hard to see other age-based patterns.
| Vote | 18-24 year-olds (278) | 25-34 year-olds (307) | 35-44 year-olds (158) | 45-54 year-olds (191) | 55-64 year-olds (166) | 65+ year-olds (104) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| friends & family | 39.8%Â (+5.8 / -5.5) | 34.2%Â (+5.8 / -5.4) | 38.9%Â (+7.8 / -7.2) | 34.0%Â (+6.9 / -6.3) | 36.3%Â (+7.6 / -6.9) | 37.2%Â (+9.8 / -8.8) |
| newspapers | 26.2%Â (+5.5 / -4.8) | 35.8%Â (+5.9 / -5.5) | 33.9%Â (+7.7 / -6.9) | 31.7%Â (+6.8 / -6.1) | 33.1%Â (+7.6 / -6.8) | 34.6%Â (+10.0 / -8.8) |
| search engines | 19.7%Â (+5.1 / -4.2) | 16.8%Â (+4.9 / -4.0) | 17.7%Â (+6.7 / -5.2) | 23.5%Â (+6.5 / -5.5) | 21.8%Â (+7.1 / -5.7) | 17.7%Â (+8.5 / -6.2) |
| social media websites | 11.0%Â (+4.2 / -3.1) | 6.8%Â (+3.6 / -2.4) | 3.6%Â (+5.1 / -2.1) | 7.4%Â (+4.6 / -2.9) | 4.3%Â (+4.5 / -2.3) | 6.6%Â (+8.0 / -3.8) |
| weblogs | 3.3%Â (+2.8 / -1.5) | 6.4%Â (+3.5 / -2.3) | 6.0%Â (+5.1 / -2.9) | 3.4%Â (+4.1 / -1.9) | 4.4%Â (+5.3 / -2.5) | 3.9%Â (+7.4 / -2.6) |
Here is data by geographic region.
| Vote | The US Midwest (252) | The US Northeast (311) | The US South (372) | The US West (269) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| friends & family | 40.2%Â (+6.9 / -6.6) | 39.0%Â (+6.2 / -5.9) | 34.9%Â (+5.3 / -5.0) | 36.1%Â (+6.2 / -5.8) |
| newspapers | 30.4%Â (+6.8 / -6.1) | 36.0%Â (+6.1 / -5.7) | 33.7%Â (+5.2 / -4.9) | 29.9%Â (+6.1 / -5.5) |
| search engines | 21.5%Â (+6.4 / -5.3) | 15.7%Â (+5.2 / -4.1) | 18.7%Â (+4.6 / -3.9) | 21.2%Â (+5.5 / -4.6) |
| social media websites | 6.7%Â (+5.1 / -3.0) | 5.2%Â (+4.3 / -2.4) | 6.6%Â (+3.8 / -2.5) | 7.9%Â (+4.5 / -3.0) |
| weblogs | 1.3%Â (+9.5 / -1.1) | 4.1%Â (+4.3 / -2.1) | 6.2%Â (+3.6 / -2.3) | 4.8%Â (+4.3 / -2.3) |
Rural people tend to trust friends & family more, while urban people tend to trust newspapers more.
| Vote | Urban areas (602) | Rural areas (91) | Suburban areas (480) |
|---|---|---|---|
| friends & family | 30.9%Â (+4.4 / -4.0) | 45.8%Â (+11.3 / -10.9) | 38.7%Â (+4.9 / -4.7) |
| newspapers | 38.5%Â (+4.7 / -4.5) | 25.4%Â (+11.3 / -8.7) | 30.0%Â (+4.5 / -4.2) |
| search engines | 18.4%Â (+4.2 / -3.6) | 20.2%Â (+10.4 / -7.5) | 20.2%Â (+4.3 / -3.7) |
| social media websites | 8.5%Â (+4.1 / -2.8) | 2.3%Â (+14.6 / -2.1) | 6.2%Â (+4.3 / -2.6) |
| weblogs | 3.7%Â (+4.2 / -2.0) | 6.3%Â (+11.2 / -4.2) | 4.8%Â (+4.3 / -2.3) |
The richer you are, the less you generally trust friends & family. The rich also trust newspapers & blogs more (though the blog data point had a small sample size).
| Vote | People earning $0-24KÂ (138)Â | People earning $25-49KÂ (655)Â | People earning $50-74KÂ (307)Â | People earning $75-99KÂ (81)Â | People earning $100-149KÂ (25)Â |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| friends & family | 40.6%Â (+8.7 / -8.2) | 38.2%Â (+4.1 / -4.0) | 33.9%Â (+6.3 / -5.8) | 36.6%Â (+11.1 / -9.8) | 14.4%Â (+19.1 / -9.1) |
| newspapers | 25.6%Â (+9.1 / -7.4) | 30.6%Â (+4.0 / -3.7) | 37.0%Â (+6.4 / -6.0) | 42.2%Â (+10.6 / -10.0) | 42.2%Â (+20.3 / -18.0) |
| search engines | 22.8%Â (+9.1 / -7.1) | 20.6%Â (+3.7 / -3.3) | 17.4%Â (+5.7 / -4.5) | 13.4%Â (+10.9 / -6.4) | 22.0%Â (+21.5 / -12.7) |
| social media websites | 7.2%Â (+9.2 / -4.2) | 7.0%Â (+3.2 / -2.3) | 5.4%Â (+5.6 / -2.8) | 5.2%Â (+13.2 / -3.9) | 5.8%Â (+23.7 / -4.9) |
| weblogs | 3.8%Â (+11.0 / -2.9) | 3.6%Â (+3.5 / -1.8) | 6.3%Â (+5.4 / -3.0) | 2.6%Â (+18.2 / -2.3) | 15.6%Â (+21.7 / -10.2) |
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