60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll
Cyber
January 9-13, 2014
· Thinking about new technology and your own personal information, do you think recent advances in technology are worth the threat they might pose to your own privacy, or don’t you think they are worth it?
Technology is worth the loss of privacy.
In light of recent news about leaked celebrity photos, cyber extortion schemes, hacked emails, stolen credit card numbers, and hijacked email accounts, is all this new technology really worth it?
Most Americans think it is. 53% think the recent advances in technology are worth the threat they might pose to their own privacy, though many – 43%- do not. Most Americans under the age of 45 are bullish about new technology, but older Americans - who spent most of their lives in a pre-digital age - are not so sure. Those between 45 and 64 are pretty divided, while seniors lean towards thinking these advances aren’t worth the risk to privacy.
Is New Technology Worth the Loss of Privacy?
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Worth it 53% 63% 58% 46% 46% 43%
Not worth it 43 34 41 49 49 48
· In its efforts to fight terrorism, do you think the U.S. government should be allowed to monitor the internet activities of ordinary Americans, or not?
Americans to the government: “Don’t spy on me while I surf the web.
Americans are not so enthusiastic about having the government monitor their internet activities, even in the name of fighting terrorism. While 41% of Americans think the U.S. government should be allowed to monitor the internet activities of ordinary Americans, a slim majority of 54% do not. Partisans are united in this: about the same percentages of Republicans (58%), Democrats (54%), and independents (53%) all agree that the government shouldn’t be allowed to monitor their internet activities.
To Fight Terrorism, Should the U.S. Monitor
the Internet Activities of Ordinary Americans?
Total Reps Dems Inds
Should 41% 39% 44% 41%
Should not 54 58 54 53
· What do you think is the most secure way to communicate with another person? – Regular mail or “snail mail”, Email, the telephone, or texting?
Want your conversation to be secure? Stick to pre-digital technology.
When it comes to a secure way to communicate, most Americans would stick to doing things the old-fashioned way. Though letters can be opened and phone lines can be tapped, 41% nevertheless think regular “snail” mail is the most secure way to communicate with another person, and another 40% pick the telephone. Americans are far less confident in texting or email – just 9% pick the former and just 7% pick the latter.
Americans over 65 feel particularly safe with the telephone. Nearly half (49%) of seniors pick it as the safest way to communicate.
Which is the Most Secure Way to Communicate?
Total 18-64 65+
Regular “snail” mail 41% 41% 41%
The telephone 40 38 49
Texting 9 10 2
Email 7 7 6
· Which of these is more frightening to you personally? Your work email getting hacked or your personal email getting hacked?
Americans more worried about their personal email than their work email.
If Americans are concerned about their email getting hacked, it’s their personal email, rather than their work email, that concerns them the most. 69% of Americans say their personal email getting hacked is more frightening than their work email getting hacked, while just one in five say the opposite.
Seniors are less concerned about their personal email getting hacked, but that’s because one in five volunteers that they simply don’t use email.
Which is More Frightening?
Total 18-64 65+
Your personal email getting hacked 69% 71% 62%
Your work email getting hacked 19 21 8
Don’t use email (vol.) 9 6 23
· How much extra would you be willing to pay for an internet connection that was completely safe and secure? 1. Up to $10 a month? 2. Up to $50 a month, 3. Up to $100 a month, 4. Nothing, I’m not worried about internet security.
Americans aren’t willing to pay extra for internet security.
If Americans are worried about their internet security being compromised, they are not showing much willingness to pay for peace of mind. Just over half (51%) say they aren’t worried enough about internet security to pay another dime. About a third (32%) would shell out another $10 a month for an internet connection that was completely safe and secure, but few would pay substantially more. 10% of Americans would pay up to $50 a month more , while just 2% would pay $100 a month more.
Income doesn’t seem to factor much into the equation. Half of Americans earning over $100,000 a year say they wouldn’t pay any more for a completely secure internet, the same percentage as those earning less.
How Much Would You Pay for Complete Internet Security?
Total Under $100K/year $100K+/year
$10/month 32% 32% 38%
$50/month 10 10 8
$100/month 2 2 1
Nothing 51 51 50
· Which one of the following features would most likely convince you that your smart phone was truly smart? 1. If it could survive without a protective case, 2. If it cost half as much as it costs now, 3. If it didn’t misspell words, 4. If it didn’t need to be recharged every day, 5. If it disabled the ability to text while driving.
Smart Phones would be smarter if they could stay on longer.
Are smart phones really that smart? Maybe, but Americans think there are some features that could improve their IQ. The top choice would be for their smart phone to stop dozing off all the time – 26% thinks a phone that didn’t need to be recharged all the time would be truly a smart phone. A close second choice (24%) would be a safety- conscious phone that disabled the ability to text while driving. 14% think being tough is akin to being smart, and pick a phone that could survive without a protective case, while 11% think being thrifty is being smart, and think the most clever phone would cost half as much as it costs now. Finally, 8% think a phone that can’t spell might not be all that smart.
Which Would Mean that Your Smart Phone is Really Smart?
If it didn’t need to be recharged every day 26%
If it disabled the ability to text while driving 24
If it could survive without a protective case 14
If it cost half as much as it costs now 11
If it didn’t misspell words 8
Don’t own a smart phone (vol.) 11
· Do you think most people who own smart phones are addicted to them, or not?
Americans have a smart phone “habit”.
Perhaps one reason Americans are preoccupied with the battery life of their smart phones is that they can’t put them down. If you sleep with your smart phone under your pillow or if you let your dinner get cold while checking your texts you may not be alone. 87% of Americans think most people who own smart phones are addicted to them; just one in 10 think most are not.
Americans of all ages, education levels, and income levels all seem to agree: people are addicted to their smart phones.
Are Most Smart Phone Owners Addicted?
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Yes, most are 87% 88% 90% 88% 89% 81%
No, most are not 11 12 10 12 10 11
· Which one of the following do you use most often? Google, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram?
Google tops Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in terms of use, though one in five Americans don’t use any of them.
Have social media sites taken the place of the now venerable Google? Not yet, according to many Americans. 41% say they still use Google the most often, ahead of Facebook at 31%. Far fewer turn to Instagram (5%) or Twitter (2%) most often.
There are differences by age: Younger Americans are almost as likely to use Facebook (36%) as Google (41%), and 14% of Americans under 35 say they use Instagram most often (almost no one older than that says the same). And 20% of Americans volunteer they still don’t use any of these digital services, including nearly half (45%) of Americans 65 and older.
Which Do You Use Most Often?
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Google 41% 41% 51% 46% 38% 32%
Facebook 31 36 37 32 29 20
Instagram 5 14 2 4 -- --
Twitter 2 4 1 -- 1 1
None of these (vol.) 20 4 10 18 33 45
· These days, when candidates run for public office, they are often attacked politically for things they have done in their past. Looking ahead to twenty years from now, how likely do you think it is that political attacks against a candidate running for public office will primarily be based on their social media history from sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?
Beware of your social media trail if you plan on running for public office.
The past often comes back to haunt candidates who run for public office, but the problem may be getting a whole lot bigger when it comes to factoring in social media. 58% of Americans think it is very likely that the smear campaigns of the future –say twenty years from now – will mostly involve digging up their opponent’s social media history from sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Another 28% think this is somewhat likely.
Younger Americans are more conscious of this threat. More than six in 10 Americans under 55 think it is very likely that political attacks will be based on a social media trail, though this drops among older Americans.
How Likely is it That Future Political Attacks Will be Based on Social Media?
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Very likely 58% 65% 64% 61% 55% 44%
Somewhat likely 28 29 25 28 26 32
Not very/at all likely 11 5 11 10 16 15
· Who is most to blame when embarrassing “selfies” go viral on the internet? 1. The people who take the pictures, 2. The people who distribute the pictures, 3. Both equally, or 4. What’s a selfie?
When “selfies” go viral, there’s blame to go around.
One thing politicians might do to avoid scandal is to avoid taking embarrassing “selfies” of themselves, but if they do, many think they have no one to blame but themselves. 36% of Americans think the people who take the embarrassing “selfies” are the most to blame when they go viral on the internet, while just 12% think the blame belongs mostly to the people who distribute the pictures. Nearly half (49%), however, think both are equally to blame.
Men (39%) are slightly more likely than women (33%) to lay most of the blame on the self-photographers, while women are more likely to spread the blame around.
Who’s Most to Blame when “Selfies” Go Viral?
Total Men Women
The people who take the pictures 36% 39% 33%
The people who distribute the pictures 12 10 13
Both equally 49 46 51
· Which one of the following is Google’s original corporate motto?
Most don’t know about Google’s admonition “Don’t be evil”.
Do the words “Don’t be evil” apply to Google? If so, they don’t recognize it as their official corporate motto. Just 16% of Americans correctly pick “Don’t be evil” as Google’s original motto, amidst a list of choices that includes “Don’t be shy” (19%), “Don’t be worried” (19%), “Don’t be silly” (9%), and “Don’t be cautious” (5%). 32% admit they just don’t know which Google’s motto is.
What is Google’s Original Corporate Motto?
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Don’t be shy 19% 22% 22% 23% 18% 10%
Don’t be worried 19 27 15 17 19 12
Don’t be evil 16 16 23 18 15 11
Don’t be silly 9 11 9 6 12 6
Don’t be cautious 5 3 9 3 5 4
Don’t know (vol.) 32 21 22 33 31 57
______
This poll was conducted by telephone from January 9-13, 2015 among 1,016 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3 percentage points. The error for other subgroups may be higher. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Poll.
60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Questions
Cyber
January 9-13, 2015
VF-01. Thinking about new technology and your own personal information, do you think recent advances in technology are worth the threat they might pose to your own privacy, or don’t you think they are worth it?
********* TOTAL RESPONDENTS ***********
************* Age **************
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
% % % % % %
Worth it 53 63 58 46 46 43
Not worth it 43 34 41 49 49 48
Don’t Know/No answer 4 3 1 4 5 9
VF-02. In its efforts to fight terrorism, do you think the U.S. government should be allowed to monitor the internet activities of ordinary Americans, or not?
****** Party ******
Total Reps Dems Inds
% % % %
Should 41 39 44 41
Should not 54 58 54 53
Don’t Know/No answer 4 4 2 6
VF-03. What do you think is the most secure way to communicate with another person?
**** age ***
Total 18-64 65+
% % %
Regular mail or “snail mail” 41 41 41
The telephone 40 38 49
Texting 9 10 2
Email 7 7 6
Don’t Know/No answer 4 4 2
VF-04. Which of these is more frightening to you personally?
Your personal email getting hacked 69 71 62