While the 2016 Presidential election was certainly one of the most divisive our country has ever seen, it appears at least one good thing came out of it. A new survey reveals that the current political climate has sparked folk’s interest in current affairs.
A poll conducted by Dictionary.com finds that 53% of Americans believe they're more informed about what’s going on in the world now as opposed to before the election, and that’s one thing both sides can agree on. Overall, 58% of both Democrats and Republicans say they are more informed about current affairs than they were prior to November, with 50% of Independents agreeing.
A greater number of Millennials, ages 18 to 34, feel more informed (60%), than any other generation, with only 51% of 35 to 44-year-olds and 48% of 55 to 64-year-olds saying they are more informed.Meanwhile 58% of Millennials also admit to reading more political news than before the election, as compared to 40% of 45 to 54-year-olds, and 44% of 55 to 64 year olds.
And in some cases, being "more informed" means looking up terms spoken by our politicians, with Dictionary.com reporting that words used by politicians were trending in site lookups following several election-related events. In fact, 36% of Americans say they came across a word during the election coverage that they didn’t know.
Among the words that sparked folks’ curiosity:
Alt-right (16%)Bigly (16%)Executive order (13%)Xenophobic (12%)Misogynist (11%)Fascism (11%)Filibuster (10%)Populist (9%)Schadenfreude (8%)