Young Adults Less Knowledgeable About Current Events
by Motte Brown on 06/12/2009 at 3:27 PM
Much less.
On current events related to the economy and foreign affairs, young adults ages 18-29 averaged 20 percentage points lower than older adults on a simple 12-question quiz.
Here's the summary from Pew:
As in the past, younger Americans (ages 18 to 34) are not as knowledgeable about the news as are older Americans. On a current event knowledge survey, young adults averaged 5.9 correct answers out of 12 news-based questions, fewer than the averages for Americans ages 35 to 49 (7.8) and above age 50 (8.4). In fact, for each of the 12 items tested, a greater proportion of both age groups over age 35 knew the correct answer than adults under 35. The knowledge gap is widest on foreign affairs.
I know I'll get railed for this but I couldn't help notice that the 20 percentage point differential is pretty close to the gap (16 percent) in how young adults voted in the last presidential election versus the 30+ crowd. Hm.
I took the test and answered 12 out of 12 correctly. I don't say that to impress, but to show you how easy it was.
To test your current events knowledge, go here.
1. Ted Slater said the following at 3:35 PM on Jun 12:
I took the test. Got one wrong answer: I guessed too low on the DJIA.
2. DannieA said the following at 3:40 PM on Jun 12:
since I don't read the paper, nor do I care to listen to the media I scored 8/12 by not actively knowing much.
3. Jethro said the following at 4:05 PM on Jun 12:
And how do you interpret reports which say liberals are generally more educated than conservatives?
4. Michael McClain said the following at 4:16 PM on Jun 12:
Just out of curiosity, where do you get your news? My biggest problem is not how interested I am in current events but where to go to learn about them. I used to watch news on TV, but it wasted my time with all the commercials and irrelevant silly stories (Michelle Obama's fashion, anyone?). I'd love to find a place where I can find news cut and dry without all the commercialization, sappy humor, liberal bias, and unimportant coverage. Anyone know of a place I can go to find out what's happening with our foreign policy without being bashed over the head about who won American Idol or why Obama did a much better job with his first 100 days than Bush? Please?
5. Emma said the following at 4:26 PM on Jun 12:
I got 7/12. My excuse - I'm not American!
6. Julie said the following at 4:46 PM on Jun 12:
Got 9/12.
7. S said the following at 4:47 PM on Jun 12:
I'm 32 and I got 11/12. The questions asking for a specific number are the ones that I could see people getting hung up on.
With regards to current events, I really get most of my information on the internet. What I've found lately, is that because there is SO MUCH information out there, and it's constantly being updated, that at some point I max out on what I can process.
8. Rebekah said the following at 4:49 PM on Jun 12:
I got 7/12 and haven't read/watched the news regularly since I started med school about 2 years ago. So I'd say that's not bad and what I do pay attention to is the more important news.
9. farmer Tom said the following at 5:05 PM on Jun 12:
I got 11 out of 12, because they have the wrong answer on the unemployment rate.
Proof here, The Real Unemployment Rate
here,
Financial Week
and here, Dave Manuel
Yes I know my links do not have the same number, the point is that all of them show large numbers of people that the Federal statistics do not include.
In other words, 8.1 is the officially released number from the government propaganda service. The facts clearly show they are lying.
So in other words I got 12 out of 12 and the poll is incorrect.
10. Larissa said the following at 5:39 PM on Jun 12:
I grew up watching the news every day for an hour with my dad when he got home from work. Ever since I moved out, I have seen zero news, and I miss it. I do not own a TV, so that is the main reason. I don't want to pay for a newspaper that I will only read 2 pages of (the mennonite in me) and I find browsing news websites exhausting and boring. That's why I don't know my current events. I figure what I NEED to know, I will find out through people at work, or my family.
11. Katie M. said the following at 5:52 PM on Jun 12:
I'm a 27-year-old news junky (former reporter) and got a measly 10/12. I guessed too low on the Dow and also guessed incorrectly the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq. I noticed those questions had the lowest percentages of correct answers. I wonder how well people score who primarily look for news on Comedy Central. Are there even such people, or is it just a stereotype? I don't get that channel in my little corner of the world, but I'm curious.
12. BDB said the following at 5:53 PM on Jun 12:
Well, one wrong here. Guessed casualties too high.
13. Don said the following at 5:53 PM on Jun 12:
I got 9/12.
I don't watch the news and I don't read the newspaper. I also don't look up news stories on the internet.
A vast majority of the "news" that is presented in today's media is negative. Negative media leads to negative thinking. As a result, I avoid most "news" sources and try to put positive media in my mind.
14. Lis said the following at 5:55 PM on Jun 12:
5/12.
15. Kellie said the following at 5:55 PM on Jun 12:
I got 7/12, but I tend to pay more attention to local news than national or global.
16. ChrisA said the following at 6:11 PM on Jun 12:
As a busy grad student, it's easy to get lost in my own world of memorising and experiments. I'm sure I'm not the only one like this.
Anyway, one thing I've done is set my browser homepage to an international news site (news.bbc.co.uk) which gives a pretty good rundown of world events on one page. Between this and Yahoo! News (or Google, or FoxNews, whatever you fancy), I find that you get a good coverage on current events first thing when you fire up the internet.
Plus, I must say, knowing about current events keep you looking edumacated, is a great conversation starter, and reminds you daily of the need for prayers, mercy and grace.
I hope this helps someone. It's my first ever post.
All the best in Him!
~Chris
17. Leah said the following at 6:53 PM on Jun 12:
I got 8 out of 12. Pretty good for a non-American. Bet if I asked similar questions about Australian politics of an American they'd get far less... ;P
18. K.L. said the following at 7:02 PM on Jun 12:
I'm 18 and got 4/12. I did better than 9% of the general public. Wow, that's bad. In my defense, I had nothing to do with the outcome of the presidential election. I made an informed decision. Unfortunately it didn't do much good. :(
19. Texas Craig said the following at 7:32 PM on Jun 12:
I got 11 out of 12. I guessed too low on the number of U.S. deaths in Iraq.
20. Jarod said the following at 7:33 PM on Jun 12:
I got 11/12 - not American so was unsure on how many soldiers have died in Iraq or the national unemployment level. Obviously got one of them right though!
21. Patty said the following at 7:51 PM on Jun 12:
12/12 here... I have the local news on in the mornings as I get ready and normally listen to the local talk radio station on the way to work. I don't consider myself a news junkie but maybe I am!
22. Brian Krieger said the following at 7:57 PM on Jun 12:
I'm actually surprised that you haven't been torched so far, Motte. But I agree it's at least slightly coincidental.
I must say that the numbers sound pretty normal, though. Some of it is just a narcissistic mindset (that’s not unique to the current young generation, mind you) and some of it is just the fact that many in the pre-30 crowd are insulated from the real world while in college, etc.
23. Chris said the following at 9:02 PM on Jun 12:
11/12, because of the same issue that farmer Tom reported. They should have specifically defined what they meant by unemployment rate.
As for the age breakdown, I find the ranges too broad. I mean seriously. Consider what an 18 year old fresh out of high school knows and what a 29 year old knows. And compare what a 30 year old may know to what a 49 year old knows. They're lumping too much data together.
24. Gina said the following at 9:09 PM on Jun 12:
9/12. I underestimated just how much of a turnaround Barack Obama did on a certain issue. Silly me.
25. Sarah (RS) said the following at 9:33 PM on Jun 12:
Nineteen years old, journalism major (just finished sophomore year), and I only got 8/12. The odd thing is, I got most of the numbers ones right....
Interesting point on the age-grouping though; usually these sorts of things break them down into 18-25 to start with, to more narrowly describe the tendencies of "college-age" people.
26. Andy said the following at 9:37 PM on Jun 12:
11/12
I forgot a name.
But any idiot can memorize statistics from the news.
Its understanding the implications of the numbers and issues have on our economy and country.
I don't think this is that great of a survey.
27. Joanna said the following at 9:46 PM on Jun 12:
I think it is too much of a stretch to make the correlation between voting patterns and awareness of current issues on the basis of this data.
Firstly, Just because 2 different trends exist in a population doesn't mean one necessarily causes the other. From the data we have we do not know if the people who voted democrat are the same ones who lack knowledge of current issues. It is quite possible that the majority of the ignorant ones were republican voters or that less informed people were spread evenly across both groups of young voters. Not to mention that given the quite low voter turn outs in American elections, it is possible that the least knowledgeable aren't voting for anyone at all. The testing of knowledge would have to be redone with the variable of "party voted for in last election" included to be able to more legitimately draw these conclusions.
Secondly i get the impression that you think understanding current affairs should naturally lead to voting republican. I am not a democrats supporter but i can see things in my following of current issues that would discourage me from voting republican were i to be eligible to vote in American elections.
28. Ronnica said the following at 10:56 PM on Jun 12:
I got 11/12. I know I know more than most of my friends, but I usually just catch a snippet of news or talk radio, or maybe a blog or two a day discussing a current event. I have recently been convicted that this is not enough...I'm allowing others to pre-chew my news, and that's unacceptable!
29. BDB said the following at 11:52 PM on Jun 12:
Katie M. (#11) wrote:
>>I wonder how well people score who primarily look for news on Comedy Central.<<
Yeah, because there was one survey where Daily Show viewers outscored all other news outlets for awareness of current events. They did a segment on it because, frankly, they yelled at people, "You know this is FAKE news, right?"
But, like Johnny Carson in the good old days, for current-events humor to be funny requires knowing the current events.
But also, real people go on The Daily Show. In the case of the Iraq war, for example, they had on both former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In both cases Stewart gave them the chance to say the 2003 invasion rationale was wrong. Both stood by the decision, pointing out that everyone, including the former members of the Clinton administration, was convinced WMDs were in Iraq, and that's why Hussein wasn't cooperating with inspectors. Frankly, I've always felt that Blair made a much more persuasive case for the current Iraq war than Bush.
And for the most part, when interviewing people live, Stewart gives them time and flexibility to really state their case. It never stays just talking points, they really get into good discussions. When he did the one on "what is torture," they went round and round for more than 20 minutes, compared to the 2 minutes you usually see on news shows. They posted the whole thing to facebook unedited, so people could see the whole debate. Stewart didn't pull any punches, either.
The bottom line is that the Comedy Central format really does get issues onto the table and gets everyone off their talking points. And though I usually disagree with Stewart, it is clear that he really does care about the country.
30. Rabenstrange said the following at 1:17 AM on Jun 13:
I correctly answered all 12, despite the fact that I quit making an effort to keep up on current events 2 years ago.
I realized that 90% of the information gained from reading the news is worthless within a month. I'd rather read something with more lasting value.
I feel that I can make better choices as to which candidates and policies to support based on a solid knowledge of history and economics rather than knowing who's arguing about what in the senate at present.
31. Priscilla said the following at 5:23 AM on Jun 13:
9/12 -- and I'm not American.
Like #17 Leah, have to wonder how well Americans would do if I asked similar questions about Indian politics :)
Even the most basic questions -- for example, how many of you know the names of India's Prime Minister and President? Or our population?
Or if, despite the importance of our population on the state of the world, you don't know much about India, how about an American ally in the region -- how many of you know Pakistan's Prime Minister? Or its capital? Answers, anyone?
(You should know that billions of dollars that the US has pumped into Pakistan as aid in the war on terror has been spent on conventional weaponry meant to fight a war against India instead. And I'll admit it -- this point really bugs me, so I may not be very objective or unbiased here!)
Also, to be fair, I am a journalist, and although I don't cover international news, it is my job to keep abreast of current affairs. I'm guessing the average Indian would do much worse on your quiz about American politics.
32. Jaime Xan said the following at 7:05 AM on Jun 13:
I score 5/12. As a single mother of a 3 year old, there doesn't leave as much time for keeping on top of world events as I would like. I get some news on my way into work on the radio. But when the tv is on at home, it's usually Sprout or Noggin. Once my son is asleep, I'm all about house stuff and school stuff (I'm a teacher). Perhaps now that summer break is starting, things will change. But then again, instead of school planning, now I'll be camp planning. ;-) Always something.
33. Scott said the following at 7:24 AM on Jun 13:
I'm 24, and I got 11/12! I missed the casualty rate (I guessed low).
I'm surprised you haven't gotten flamed hardcore, Motte.
34. T.Smith said the following at 8:36 AM on Jun 13:
You correctly answered 12 of the 12 possible questions along with approximately 6% of the public. You did better than 94% of the general public.
I lucked out on the Iraq and deaths question: the Daily Toreador has a troop counter, listing the number of lost lives.
35. Joyce said the following at 8:47 AM on Jun 13:
Hi! I got 10/12 and I'm not even American.
36. rushncap said the following at 9:06 AM on Jun 13:
Got 10. Did not realize Ford is yet to get any $ from the bailouts, and did not know the current Dow number. In my defense, I'm still a grad student, and don't have the $ to invest in the stock market, so the Dow # does not impact me nearly as much. Not to mention that I don't really consider the Dow to be a very important parameter.
37. Bethany Erickson said the following at 9:15 AM on Jun 13:
I got 11/12. I went to high on the casualty count in Iraq. I listen to NPR and read a bunch of blogs. If I watch anything (don't own a tv), it's the Daily Show or Colbert online. I voted for Obama.
I doubt that knowledge of current events has anything to do with how one votes; but I do suspect that it correlates at least somewhat with whether one votes at all.
38. Mike Theemling said the following at 10:45 AM on Jun 13:
12 out of 12! w00t!
But yes, I agree that most Americans are sorely lacking in current events, especially international events.
39. Katie said the following at 11:36 AM on Jun 13:
I got 5/12.... But I live in Canada.
40. Caiti said the following at 11:50 AM on Jun 13:
I'm ashamed at my score!
I want to be in the know, but I don't want to have to trudge through tons of news stories about things I don't understand. I tried subscribing to a news site on my Google Reader to stay informed, but it was an overwhelming onslaught of information that went over my head.
What are some good resources that can help me be aware of current political issues?
41. Andy said the following at 12:14 PM on Jun 13:
#30
"I feel that I can make better choices as to which candidates and policies to support based on a solid knowledge of history and economics rather than knowing who's arguing about what in the senate at present."
You said exactly what I was trying to say, but much more eloquently.
Thank you!
42. Lauren said the following at 1:26 PM on Jun 13:
I got 5 wrong, and I just recently turned eighteen. To be honest, I don't really want to know what's going on in the news, because when I do hear about certain news, I get angry.
43. Jo said the following at 3:00 PM on Jun 13:
Yeah, I only got 3/12. I would use the 'not American' excuse, but it sounds like many of the non-Americans did really well! I basically get all my knowledge of American current affairs from this blog, so I'd say my low score means Boundless isn't doing its job well enough. :)
44. ridata said the following at 4:26 PM on Jun 13:
9/12.
As farmer Tom said, the unemployment rate they have is wrong.
I also said there were 3300 deaths in Iraq, and Alan Greenspan was Reserve Board chairman.
I should know about Iraq deaths, the other two I ignore. Oh and I'm 16.
45. Lydia said the following at 4:36 PM on Jun 13:
I got 8/12. How in the world are you supposed to answer the casualty question when the media is constantly spouting different numbers??
And seriously, I've lost track of the government's bailouts. Just too much for me, so I tune it out.
46. Trevor Dolby said the following at 5:13 PM on Jun 13:
12/12, 36, college grad
But then, I read the Economist every week, so the financial stuff about Ford, Timothy Geithner, foreign holdings of U.S. debt, etc, weren't particularly hard.
I had to guess the number of U.S. deaths in Iraq, though.
47. Cynthia said the following at 6:07 PM on Jun 13:
" I couldn't help notice that the 20 percentage point differential is pretty close to the gap (16 percent) in how young adults voted in the last presidential election versus the 30+ crowd. Hm." --
I voted for Obama, and like you, Motte, I got 12 out of 12 questions correct in less than a minute's time without looking--94th percentile. I am 27 years old.
48. Chris said the following at 8:23 PM on Jun 13:
It would be interesting to see how this survey would break down if people reported where they got their news. This can have a big impact. Take, for example, the war in Iraq.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/102.php
49. Kyra said the following at 8:52 PM on Jun 13:
I scored 11 out of 12 (I got the car company question wrong). I'm a single mom of a toddler who wakes very early every day (4 AM!) so I watch quite a bit of C-SPAN, CNBC and Morning Joe. In high school we were assigned to read the NY Times front section every day, and I continued this habit into grad school. I like the Morning Joe "Morning Papers" segment because it covers all the major headlines.
As a woman, I am especially frustrated at the statistic showing that on average, men did much better than women. Hopefully it's not representative of the demographic of the readers on this website, but we can do so much better than this, women!
We represent over 50% of the population, but I don't need to tell you that we don't come close to holding 50% of the government positions or 50% of CEO positions. I noticed most of the questions were related to business and politics, not "who was voted off of American Idol last week."...for those who want to change the world as young, educated women, it would help to know a little bit about the world in the first place.
50. Leah said the following at 5:08 AM on Jun 14:
Priscilla - the Indian capital is New Delhi :)
I know a little bit about India, not a lot. I generally try to keep tabs on the situation re: religious persecution etc (I know Esther Staines quite well) but I'm ashamed to say I can't pick the president or prime minister's names (although I think I'd be able to pick them from a list!) (Actually wait - I just checked wikipedia, and nope, I didn't recognise either of their names :S. Although, I did notice that your president shares the same surname as twins in the Harry Potter series... I am such a Potter nerd :P).
I have to admit I had to wikipedia Pakistan's capital, all the while thinking "I'm going to KICK myself when I read this, I KNOW it"... saw "Islamabad" and was like "DUH".
Hmm, having read your little India/Pakistan pop quiz, I'm curious to know what Americans would know about Australian current affairs and politics ;) hehe.
Also re: the unemployment rate (I've seen a few comments debating this issue): I just knew what Australia's unemployment rate was and guessed America's would be a few points higher and presto, I got it right :P
Can you believe I got the Dow question right?! I was surprised to realise I've actually absorbed more of the finance news than I thought.
I've realised recently I'm a bit of a news junkie (as far as national news goes anyway, and I'm usually reasonably well informed on international news). I didn't realise until one day I was watching the evening news and had already heard about just about every single story throughout the half-hour bulletin. That's when I realised that during the day I...
- Watch Sunrise (a morning talk/news show) which has regular news bulletins throughout it
- Get online (news.com.au) and read all the articles that look interesting and the briefs of all the ones on the front page (I usually refresh it a few times a day also)
- Sometimes catch a midday news bulletin (if I have it on - not often)
- And THEN get to the evening news.
That said, I don't watch a lot of other TV! :) ...I also did a Bachelor of Journalism at uni :P My uni degree turned me into a news junkie!
51. brachialplexus said the following at 1:05 PM on Jun 14:
I got 10/12 sounds better than saying 69%. The numbers threw me off too - number of soldiers who have died, and the dow jones one.
I'm responding mainly to Katie M.'s comment on Comedy Central: My mom who isn't the most tech savvy person watches the news a lot. We come from a country where we have only an hr of news a day on a government sponsored channel. So having 4+ news channels is fascinating. But when Cable switched channels about a year ago my mom didn't realise that the news channels included only 51-55, not comedy central's 50...lol. So only a few months ago while we were flipping through channels she wonders aloud about this odd American news show. lol - maybe they should include a disclaimer somewhere in their show, if they don't already.
52. Amir Larijani said the following at 3:28 PM on Jun 14:
12/12.
53. Keith said the following at 3:35 PM on Jun 14:
Got 10 out of 12 - Not bad considering I am not even American...
54. BDB said the following at 5:25 PM on Jun 14:
Caiti (#40) wrote:
>>What are some good resources that can help me be aware of current political issues?<<
Amusingly, one Macroeconomics class I took in Graduate school involved the professor telling us that in seven weeks, he was going to teach us how to read the Wall Street Journal. And he did!
One of the most interesting parts was teaching how, precisely, the Federal Reserve managed to influence interest rates. It's a lot more complicated than what you read in the paper, but it really is quite interesting.
But what helped me the most was reading books by one of my professors, Peter F. Drucker, who does a great job of explaining economic history. His non-management books, such as The Post-Capitalist Society really show how modern political-economy developed. Knowing the history makes it much easier to understand the news.
Another good tutorial is Stratfor, which has very accurate information. (They are also very disciplined about being nonpartisan.) They also do an excellent job of explaining the historical roots of any current geopolitical situation. And I'm convinced that governents all over the world leak to them on purpose.
55. BDB said the following at 5:38 PM on Jun 14:
Pricilla (#31) wrote:
>>Or if, despite the importance of our population on the state of the world, you don't know much about India, how about an American ally in the region -- how many of you know Pakistan's Prime Minister? Or its capital? Answers, anyone?<<
During the Cold War, India was not a U.S. ally. Instead, they played both Superpowers off each other. That's why India's air force flys MiGs.
Nevertheless, with a population of over a Billion people, and as a functioning democracy, India is definitely an important U.S. trading partner and geopolitically, the U.S. and India have a number of similar interests.
It would be easier to remember facts about India if names weren't changed, such as making "Bombay" "Mumbai." Americans have enough trouble as it is.
Remember, in American schools, every textbook reference to Istanbul follows with (formerly Constantinople.) It will be CENTURIES before we figure out where Mumbai is...
56. John said the following at 9:13 PM on Jun 14:
went 7/7 then 0/5 oops
57. BDB said the following at 11:16 PM on Jun 14:
Fun fact: The WSJ Online has special, permanent news links for both India and China under the "World News" section.
58. Justin T. said the following at 11:44 PM on Jun 14:
11/12 here. Got the question about which auto makers received bailouts wrong, of all things.
I don't watch TV news, and I very occasionally glance at the headlines on the BBC America site (ironic, as I'm American.) I used to watch the news more, but I stopped a few months ago when I realized that watching the news only resulted in my being annoyed or angry at the news channels' fawning over our current President, and produced very little real information. If I want real information, I stay away from the AP.
59. BDB said the following at 11:49 PM on Jun 14:
@51 >>So only a few months ago while we were flipping through channels she wonders aloud about this odd American news show. lol - maybe they should include a disclaimer somewhere in their show, if they don't already. <<
ROFL
60. Ted Slater said the following at 11:50 PM on Jun 14:
BDB (#57) -- only you would consider the WSJ's having "permanent news links for both India and China under the 'World News' section" as a "fun fact." ;-)
61. Cait said the following at 12:26 AM on Jun 15:
8/12 and I'm not even from the U.S.
I guess we get a fair bit of US news in Australia.
62. BDB said the following at 2:53 AM on Jun 15:
@60 - Fun Fact is easier to spell than Tangentially Related to the Topic at Hand.
But it actually does say something important about the publication. There is a somewhat justified perception that the average U.S. citizen is oblivious to most news outside the States.
It's interesting that the #1 Finance and Business publication in the U.S. actually puts a lot of energy into reporting in other regions. Their editorials tend to be a lot more thoughtful on situations overseas, particularly in speaking up for political and economic freedom.
But it doesn't really surprise me. In my MBA program, there were a number of students from China (both PRC and Taiwan) and India. What was interesting is that the students from Taiwan and India were always ready to debate politics, not only the U.S. role in the Pacific Rim but anything else under the sun, too. The PRC students avoided political conversations. They were on (communist) government scholarships, after all. They seemed to want to study their econometrics and not get into trouble.
Personally, I'd like to see more military cooperation between the U.S. and the democracies such as Japan, India, South Korea and Taiwan.
On those occaisions when someone from PRC is being political, I like to tell them that I've told my congressman we should recognize Taiwan's independence, and get them into the U.N. as their own country.
In fact, one of the more amusing articles I read in the WSJ was how they were running out of country dialing codes. Usually, a country must be recognized by the United Nations to get it's own country calling code. The exception is Taiwan, which "took the initiative" on its own and got all the major world phone companies to accept 886 for switches to Taiwan. This has been in place for decades, but if I remember correctly, the U.N. only acceded to this reality relatively recently.
And Taiwan flies American F-16s, more of which are available for purchase should India be interested in uprading from MiGs.
63. Maggie said the following at 7:00 AM on Jun 15:
I got 50%, but like many others, I'm not American.
What is sad to me, but didn't really surprise me, was that every one of those questions was American-focused, as if current events had nothing to do with anything happening elsewhere in the world.
64. Carl said the following at 7:01 AM on Jun 15:
Talk Radio+Drudge Report= my 12/12 score.
65. Laurel said the following at 7:33 AM on Jun 15:
Michael McClain (#4) - two places I get my news are www.onenewsnow.com and the Gary Bauer Daily Report, which you can sign up for on www.ouramericanvalues.org
66. Brandi Jo said the following at 7:58 AM on Jun 15:
9/12. I'm 25 and, honestly, was a little surprised at my results; largely because I don't see myself as one who "actively" pays attention to the media. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I will turn GMA on in the mornings when I am getting ready for work. This is, primarily, just for "background noise." I guess I am more receptive than I realized. Or, perhaps, the media is just more influential. Regardless, I do hope that, one day, I will actually put a news show on for the purpose in which it is intended to be watched: obtaining relevant, current, life affecting (in some way) information. Now, whether or not that information is unbiased may be the real question. :)
67. Dave said the following at 8:25 AM on Jun 15:
11/12... but I'm Canadian so I'll use that as an excuse for missing 1 of the questions.
I'd note that the story includes the phrase "as in the past". Can't find any details as to how long in the past that means.
Is it all that surprising to find that those who are probably responsible for more policy - i.e. in more senior positions - are more knowledgeable about policy issues? (The extended description indicates significant male-female differences that could be explained by similar logic).
68. Adam said the following at 8:43 AM on Jun 15:
Motte, I'm just wondering why you chose knowledge level as your reasoning for why young people chose Obama.
Why not choose economics?
The 18-29 age group are much more likely to need college aid. They are more likely to use public transit. With a huge percentage of out of wedlock births (hey they're not abortions!) comes a larger demand for government aid.
As the young people age, they may buy houses and get better jobs. All of a sudden, they can't get aid anymore... instead they are the ones paying for the aid for the younger crowd. They want to keep more of their money and lean more Republican.
Or if you wanted to be really incendiary you could call it a race issue. Pretty similar percentages of black and voters voted for Obama regardless of age.
About 14% more young white and hispanic voters voted for Obama than their older counterparts did. Could reduced racism in the young swing more votes a particular way?
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that you can twist the statistics to support your thesis. FOTF has always leaned strongly Republican (though they claim no party affiliation) so I expect stats to be given a Republican slant.
69. Julia H said the following at 9:53 AM on Jun 15:
8/10 but I'm Canadian so I don't follow American politics too closely so some of the names were unfamiliar to me.
70. Amy said the following at 4:01 PM on Jun 15:
Good news sources (national & international):
http://drudgereport.com/
http://onenewsnow.com/
http://google.com/reader (subscribe to blogs, online newspapers, etc. and pick what you want to view from your reader homepage--extremely fast and convenient)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
71. Kyle said the following at 7:29 PM on Jun 15:
Perhaps readers here at Boundless have their own blogs that cover current events and other topics? If so, post them.
I cover a number of topics at mine.
http://yellowlimes.blogspot.com/
72. Lorraine said the following at 5:05 AM on Jun 16:
I got a 7/12. I am 19 and to be honest I don't follow the news much anymore. It bothered me too much, all the stuff going on in the world. It lead me to worry, fear, and anger. When I decided to stop for awhile, I found out that my life was less stressful from not following the news. I also found that I was no worse off from not knowing--not watching the news did not stop me from breathing, driving me car, doing my school work, etc. So now, I look at local news and that's it. I've got more important things to do than know who's doing what in Washington. If I want to know, I'll look it up.
73. Shannon said the following at 9:16 AM on Jun 16:
18-29 Female College Grad-
10/12
Missed the Pakistan/Afghanistan border question (eh, not so great on geography) and how many Americans have been killed in Iraq.
74. Mark said the following at 4:05 AM on Jun 17:
I scored 9/12. I'm a foreigner (New Zealand), aged over 40. So my excuse is that the quiz is slanted towards US info!!