CivicScience continually tracks current and anticipated consumer trends. Here are three key insights marketers should know this week. All insights are derived from the CivicScience Social | Political | Economics | Cultural (SPEC) Report, a weekly report available to clients covering the latest news and insights. Work with us to learn more. 

1. Americans plan to lean on air conditioning and spend time in water to beat the record heat wave.

Earlier this month, global temperatures reached record highs for three consecutive days – and the historic heat wave is likely just getting started. Over 100 million Americans were issued heat alerts in the past week, with temperatures in the Southwest routinely exceeding 110 degrees.

According to the latest CivicScience data, 54% of Americans say they have plans to beat the heat this summer – with air conditioning and spending more time in the water (pool, sprinkler, lake, etc.) topping the ways they plan to combat record-high temperatures.

Non-white Americans – and particularly Hispanic adults (26%) – are more likely to plan on cooling off in the water through these heat spells.

2. Majority of Americans think the federal government has a responsibility to combat misinformation on social media.

A federal judge in Louisiana ruled earlier this month that the Biden administration could not contact social media companies about removing purported misinformation, claiming such efforts likely violated the First Amendment. But last week, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the Louisiana judge’s order.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults at least ‘somewhat agree’ that the U.S. federal government has a “critical role to play when it comes to controlling the spread of misinformation on social media.” The percentage who ‘strongly agree’ (39%) well exceeds the percentage who ‘strongly disagree’ (24%).

Nearly 6-in-10 Americans are ‘very concerned’ about the dissemination of misinformation on social media, with Democrats being 13 percentage points more likely than Republicans to report the highest level of concern (66% and 53%, respectively). Sixty-one percent of Americans are ‘very concerned’ about misinformation in news media – with Republican concern heavily outweighing Democratic concern (78% and 61% reporting to be ‘very concerned,’ respectively).

3. The rate of American workers voluntarily quitting their jobs is declining to approach pre-pandemic levels.

Although the “great resignation” led to millions of Americans voluntarily quitting their jobs in search of greener pastures, these numbers have declined to levels just above the pre-pandemic norm in recent months. According to the latest CivicScience data, these most recent job changes were fruitful for Americans, with 45% of job switchers claiming they increased their salary. Four in ten Americans who changed jobs say it brought about better work/life balance, and an additional third reported increased time off/flexibility to round out the top three benefits.

Interested in an in-depth look at the data featured on these topics, along with additional consumer insights from this report? Get in touch to see how you can gain access to the full SPEC Report every week. Don’t miss out on the latest consumer data – receive a free month of premium content access when you book a meeting.