Americans say keeping up with key news topics is crucial. But fewer say they’re highly informed themselves

Large majorities of Americans believe staying informed about key policy areas is essential, but far fewer rate themselves as highly knowledgeable on those same topics, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March. The survey found that 82% of U.S. adults say it is extremely or very important to stay informed about the healthcare system and about voting and election processes [1]. Three-quarters of adults say the same about economic and tax policies [1]. Yet the share who describe themselves as extremely or very informed lags significantly: 34% for healthcare, 50% for voting and elections, and 24% for economic and tax policies [1]. The gap between perceived importance and self-assessed knowledge extends across nearly all 11 topics measured, including immigration, Social Security, and U.S. foreign policy [1]. Older adults are more likely than younger Americans to say staying informed is important and to feel informed themselves [1]. Previous Pew Research Center work has shown that older adults are also more likely to view following the news as a civic duty [1]. Partisan differences are modest. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (88%) are more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners (74%) to say it is extremely or very important to know what the president can and cannot do [1]. The survey was fielded during the second presidency of Donald Trump, which began in January 2025 and has been marked by an aggressive use of executive orders — 225 were signed in 2025 alone, the most by any president in a single year since Franklin D. Roosevelt [3]. Republicans, meanwhile, are more likely than Democrats to say they are highly informed about voting and election processes (54% vs. 46%) and immigration policies (44% vs. 35%) [1]. When asked where they get information, the news media ranks as the top source for most topics, including U.S. foreign policy (51%) and immigration (46%) [1]. Government sources are a primary pathway for 31% of adults on Social Security [1]. Social media is a more common information source for young adults, consistent with earlier Center findings [1]. Relatively few Americans name school or formal education as a main source, though 18% cite it as their top pathway for learning about the extent and limits of presidential power [1]. Formal education, as a structured institutional framework, has historically been the primary vehicle for transmitting civic knowledge, but its role competes with informal and media-driven channels in the modern information environment [7].