Yahoo Releases New Survey on the Impact of Technology on Politics in the United States
November 12 2015 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
Results show a clear racial divide, with
minority voters in America feeling more optimistic about the
potential for technology to change the political process for the
better
TUNE IN to the live-stream of Digital
Democracy: The Yahoo News Conference on Technology & Politics
TODAY at 10:30am ET: yhoo.it/digitaldemocracy
Ahead of the inaugural live event, Digital Democracy: The Yahoo
News Conference on Technology & Politics, Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)
today released results of a new online survey that shows a clear
racial divide over how Americans feel about the effect of the
Internet and social media on politics. While voters overwhelmingly
feel that social media and the internet spread misinformation
(83%), the findings show that minority voters are especially likely
to feel technology has made the American political debate more
representative.
Yahoo News commissioned the survey, conducted by Harris Poll in
September 2015 among 5,188 registered voters, to gain a deeper
understanding of their perspectives on the issues surrounding how
technology has influenced their ability to communicate with
politicians, their perspectives on cybersecurity, privacy, and the
infrastructure of technological education in this country.
According to survey highlights:
White Americans are by far the most pessimistic when it comes
to the country’s future
- 71 percent of Caucasians believe the
U.S. is “going off on the wrong track,” compared to 55 percent of
Asians, 54 percent of Hispanics, and just 41 percent of
African-Americans.
- The majority of African-Americans (59%)
think the U.S. is “going in the right direction.”
There are differences in how ethnic groups feel about whether
technology has empowered new voices in the political debate, with
whites being among the most skeptical across all categories
- Three out of four African-Americans and
Hispanics (74% and 73%) believe that the web and social media have
“made political discussion more representative of what Americans
really think,” as compared to two out of three Asians (69%), and
just three out of five Caucasians (60%).
- Fifty-five percent of African-Americans
think that the Internet and social media have made minority voters
“more influential” in politics, compared to 51 percent of
Hispanics, 45 percent of Caucasians, and just 43 percent of
Asians.
- Seventy-eight percent of Asians feel
that tech has made politics “more inclusive,” as do 77 percent of
African-Americans, 72 percent of Hispanics, and 67 percent of
Caucasians.
Minority groups are more optimistic than whites about the
political uses of tech
- At roughly 60 percent, Caucasians fall
10 to 15 points behind African-Americans and Asians, and 3 to 6
points behind Hispanics in their view of whether it’s “easier to
find the truth about an issue or candidates because of the internet
and social media” (60%) and whether these technologies “ensure more
transparency in the campaign process. (59%)”
- Fifty-seven percent of Caucasian voters
think social media has made politics more negative, followed by
Hispanics and Asians at 50 percent and 51 percent, and 41 percent
of African-Americans.
Minorities have higher hopes for the possibility of engaging
with political candidates electronically as compared to
whites
- Fifty percent of African-Americans want
to engage political candidates through social media, while only 32
percent of Caucasians feel the same way.
- Hispanics scored among the highest in
most categories of online engagement, as well as offline, physical
world civic involvement.
- They were most among the most likely to
view a presidential candidate’s picture on social media (30%), to
watch their video (30%) or to read their blog (26%).
- They reported the highest levels of
regularly posting on social media about current events (26%),
attending a public meeting on school or town affairs (19%),
attending a political rally, speech or organized protest (10%), and
writing letters to newspapers (8%) or calling a radio show
(8%).
Overall, 83 percent of voters believe that the web and social
media spread misinformation. This includes:
- 85% of Caucasians
- 83% percent of Asians
- 81% of Hispanics
- 78% of African-Americans
Most voters have a limited view of the reach of their own
influence as an individual, even with the advent of social
media
- Just 23 percent of Hispanics believe
technology has given them more of a voice in politics, 21 percent
of African-Americans, 18 percent of whites, and 15 percent of
Asians.
White Americans are most skeptical of information they see
online
- Nearly half (45%) of Caucasians think
it’s difficult to know who to trust because every news organization
has a bias, as compared to 34 percent of Hispanics, 32 percent of
Asians, and 29 percent of African-Americans.
African-Americans are more inclined to give government the
benefit of the doubt on matters of cyber-security
- Nearly half of African-Americans think
the government (47%) and corporate sector (46%) are “well prepared”
for cyber attacks, as compared to a third of Hispanics (35% and
36%) and Asians (32% and 33%), and just about one-fifth of
Caucasians (20% and 21%).
- 17 percent of African-Americans trust
the government to keep their information safe from hackers, along
with just 8 percent of Caucasians, 14 percent of Hispanics and 12
percent of Asians.
- Sixty-seven percent of whites think
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail
server during her time in government is a serious matter, compared
to just 60 percent of Hispanics and Asians, and 42 percent of
African-Americans.
The survey findings will be presented during Digital Democracy:
The Yahoo Conference on Technology & Politics at Drake
University on November 12, 2015. The full-day event will feature
conversations with high profile influencers including, elected
officials, campaign strategists, tech industry leaders, top
journalists and futurists discussing the ways in which technology
is shaping the future of our democratic process and the
relationship between citizens and their government.
For more information on Digital Democracy: The Yahoo Conference
on Technology & Politics, go to:
http://yahoodigitaldemocracy.tumblr.com/
Tune into the livestreamed event on Thursday, November 12, at
10:30am ET: yhoo.it/digitaldemocracy
Full survey results available upon request:
caitlinoneill@yahoo-inc.com
Methodology
This nationally representative survey was conducted online
within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Yahoo from
September 15-25, 2015 among 5,188 US adults ages 18 and older who
are registered to vote. This online survey is not based on a
probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical
sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology,
including weighting variables, please contact the Yahoo PR
team.
About Yahoo
Yahoo is a guide focused on making users' digital habits
inspiring and entertaining. By creating highly personalized
experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters
most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we
create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences
that build their businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale,
California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia
Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
regions. For more information, visit the pressroom
(pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151112005300/en/
Yahoo! Inc.Caitlin O'Neil,
212-571-8042caitlinoneil@yahoo-inc.com
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