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Johnsonville set out to find what links Americans – despite the current divisive times – in the second edition of Johnsonville’s National Temperature Check,a national survey of 2,085 U.S. adults conducted online by The Harris Poll from May 21-23, 2024.
Previous polling found that a huge majority of Americans are exhausted by all the anger and negativity in the country and wish the news and social media were less negative.
The new polling, which highlights a shared sense of morality and desire for more positivity, helped to inform the launch of Johnsonville’s #KeepTheInternetJuicy initiative. This new effort will attempt to tilt social media algorithms toward amplifying human kindness and inspiring stories for its fair share of the online spotlight.
Key new findings from the survey include:
There’s a Lot of Negativity on Social Media – and Americans Agree They’d Like to See Less of It
Squabbling, unnecessary yelling, and bad behavior seem to dominate current social media algorithms, and previous data showed that a huge majority (89%) of adult Americans wish social media was less negative. New data shows that Americans are more inclined toward kindness, decency and fairness than our news feeds may lead us to believe.
- 95% of Americans agree that learning to be a good winner and loser is important and 88% agree that fighting fans spoil the fun at sporting events.
- 86% don’t think that parents fighting at youth sports events sets a good example for kids.
- 89% disagreed that it doesn’t bother them when people yell at restaurant staff.
- 81% of Americans disagreed that trolling people online is a good use of time, and 92% agreed that it is wrong to make people angry on purpose for fun.
- Over half of Americans (57%) agreed having a productive debate on social media is challenging.
While It’s Important to Stay Connected, We’re Spending Less Time with People IRL
Americans’ behaviors have profoundly changed over the last few years, and priorities of where they’re spending time has shifted.
- 85% of Americans agree that social connections are important for overall well-being and happiness, but 71% of Americans admit to hanging out with people less frequently than five years ago.
Positivity and Good Deeds Are Contagious
Johnsonville’s National Temperature Check confirmed that one positive act encourages another – Americans are inspired by good deeds and kindness:
- 88% feel better about the world when they encounter positive news or events online
- 93% agree that people who help others in moments of crisis inspire them
- 92% say seeing people do good things for one another makes them want to do good things for someone else
- 93% agree that strangers being unexpectedly kind makes their day.
- An overwhelming majority (95%) agree on the importance of being kind in person and online
#KeepTheInternetJuicy is part of Johnsonville’s recently launched national campaign “Keep It Juicy,” which sets out to remind Americans that despite divisive times, it’s important to take a break, turn down the temperature, keep it together and keep it juicy.
To join in on the movement, Johnsonville is encouraging Americans to join them to help spread more positive content online with #KeepTheInternetJuicy. People can keep up with the campaign by following Johnsonville on Instagram, @Johnsonville, or by visiting www.keeeptheinternetjuicy.com.
A one-sheet from the April 2024 Johnsonville National Temperature Check data can be found HERE.
Johnsonville’s National Temperature Check Research Methodology:
- The research was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Johnsonville. The second edition was among 2,085 U.S. adults ages 18+ and was conducted May 21st, through 23rd, 2024. The first edition was among 2,060 U.S. adults ages 18+ and was conducted February 29th, through March 4th, 2024.
- Data is weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, and household income to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in The Harris Poll surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.
All sample surveys and polls, whether they use probability sampling or not, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.