Pew Knight Initiative
The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research on how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage in their communities.
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Digital devices are now the main way Americans get news. And many U.S. adults don’t just read news online; they also engage with it in various ways.
Many Americans engage with news online, most often in private ways
% of U.S. adults who said in 2025 that they had done each of the following activities online in the past week
Note: The full question wording was: “In the past week, have you done any of the following activities online (on a website, social media, or a messaging app)?”
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025.
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
Many Americans engage with news online, most often in private ways
% of U.S. adults who said in 2025 that they had done each of the following activities online in the past week
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Privately chatted about or shared news | 56 |
| Liked or saved posts about news | 45 |
| Publicly posted, shared or commented about news | 26 |
Note: The full question wording was: “In the past week, have you done any of the following activities online (on a website, social media, or a messaging app)?”
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025.
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
In a 2025 Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative, 56% of Americans said they had privately chatted about or shared news in the week before they took the survey. Meanwhile, 45% said they had liked or saved posts about news. Those actions are not always totally private, but they’re typically not as visible as publicly posting.
Publicly engaging with news online is less common: 26% of U.S. adults said they had publicly posted, shared or commented about news in the prior week. This lines up with our previous findings that most Americans who use social media rarely or never post about political or social issues.
Related: Why Americans discuss the news – or don’t – with others
Conservative Republicans, liberal Democrats more likely to engage with news online than others in each party
% of U.S. adults who said in 2025 that they had done each of the following activities online in the past week
Note: The full question wording was: “In the past week, have you done any of the following activities online (on a website, social media, or a messaging app)?”
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025.
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
Conservative Republicans, liberal Democrats more likely to engage with news online than others in each party
% of U.S. adults who said in 2025 that they had done each of the following activities online in the past week
| Conserv. Rep/Lean Rep | Moderate/Liberal Rep/Lean Rep | Moderate/Cons. Dem/Lean Dem | Liberal Dem/Lean Dem | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privately chatted about or shared news | 58 | 50 | 54 | 69 |
| Liked or saved posts about news | 47 | 39 | 42 | 55 |
| Publicly posted, shared or commented about news | 28 | 22 | 26 | 29 |
Note: The full question wording was: “In the past week, have you done any of the following activities online (on a website, social media, or a messaging app)?”
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025.
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
Overall, Republicans and Democrats, including independents who lean toward each party, engage with news online at similar rates. But in some cases, online engagement with news is more common among those at each end of the political spectrum.
For example, 69% of Democrats who identify as liberal said they had privately chatted about news online in the prior week, compared with 54% of Democrats who identify as moderate or conservative. Conservative Republicans were also more likely than moderate or liberal Republicans to have done this (58% vs. 50%).
Young Americans are more likely than older people to engage with news online
% of U.S. adults who said in 2025 that they had done each of the following activities online in the past week
Note: The full question is: “In the past week, have you done any of the following activities online (on a website, social media, or a messaging app)?”
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025.
“How Americans Are Engaged With News, Politics, Religion and Civic Life”
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
Young Americans are more likely than older people to engage with news online
% of U.S. adults who said in 2025 that they had done each of the following activities online in the past week
| Ages 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privately chatted about or shared news online | 65 | 56 | 52 | 53 |
| Liked or saved online posts about news | 59 | 47 | 42 | 32 |
| Publicly posted, shared or commented about news | 23 | 26 | 28 | 25 |
Note: The full question is: “In the past week, have you done any of the following activities online (on a website, social media, or a messaging app)?”
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025.
“How Americans Are Engaged With News, Politics, Religion and Civic Life”
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
Young adults are more likely than older people to say they privately chat about news or like news posts online. One possible contributing factor is that younger adults are more likely than older ones to use many online platforms.
But young adults are not more likely to publicly post about or share news online. Roughly a quarter of adults across all age groups said they had done this in the week prior to the survey.
Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.
