• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens

2

As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales

3

Current price of oil as of May 29, 2026

1

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens

2

As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales

3

Current price of oil as of May 29, 2026
Techdata privacy

Most Americans Failed This Questionnaire About 10 Important Tech Topics

By
Danielle Abril
Danielle Abril
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Danielle Abril
Danielle Abril
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 9, 2019, 10:00 AM ET

Although more dependent on technology than ever before, Americans don’t generally understand critical tech topics like privacy policies, two-factor authentication, or which social media apps Facebook owns.

The insights come from a survey published Wednesday by Pew Research Center, which quizzed nearly 4,300 U.S. adults about their tech IQs. The results showed that Americans were able to correctly answer multiple choice questions about phishing scams and website cookies but struggled with topics like private browsing and specifics about Facebook and Twitter.

The survey “helps us understand public awareness about the knowledge of the tech are using,” said Monica Anderson, associate director of research for Pew. “We get a better concept of what digital life is today.”

The results reveal a big learning curve for privacy and security issues, which are becoming increasingly important with the rise of sophisticated cybercrime, massive data breaches, and privacy blunders. Federal and state regulators have put big tech in their crosshairs for lax security, confusing data policies, and for mismanaging of consumer information. 

And overall, Americans lack understanding of some of the most important technology topics today, according to Pew’s survey. Only 20% of adults answered seven or more of the 10 questions correctly, and a mere 2% got all of those questions right.

Education appears to play a pretty large role in how people performed on the survey. People with college and graduate degrees were more likely to do better on every question, followed by people with some college education. People with high school degrees or less education did the worst.

Younger generations knew more about Facebook, Twitter, and two-factor authentication than older generations likely because of their familiarity with tech. 

Only 29% of all respondents knew that Facebook owned both WhatsApp and Instagram, with nearly half saying they weren’t sure. 

“Even though Facebook remains one of the most popular platforms among adults in the U.S., and even though a majority of Americans use it, there isn’t that much knowledge around it,” Anderson said, referencing Facebook’s ownership.

Meanwhile, 28% of Americans could correctly identify a set of images depicting two-factor authentication (a security process that requires users to provide a secondary form of verification in addition to a password ), with 55% answering incorrectly. Private browsing, which allows people to browse websites without storing history, also stumped people, with 24% percent of respondents correctly identifying it as preventing someone using the same computer from seeing previous online activities.

The study also revealed something apparently no one is very good at: Identifying Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. 

Only 15% of respondents were able to identify his picture, making it the most difficult question on survey. Most people—77%—representing the largest consensus in the entire survey, said they were unsure.

A few things most Americans understand, according to the survey, was phishing scams, website cookies, and that social media platforms are mostly supported by ad revenue.

About the Author
By Danielle Abril
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Snowflake CEO says monster quarter shows why software firms need new pricing models to thrive in AI age
AISnowflake Computing
Snowflake CEO says monster quarter shows why software firms need new pricing models to thrive in AI age
By Sebastian HerreraMay 30, 2026
28 minutes ago
Ex–Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns U.S. tech workers: Competing with China’s grueling 12-hour workdays means sacrificing work-life balance
Future of Workthe future of work
Ex–Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns U.S. tech workers: Competing with China’s grueling 12-hour workdays means sacrificing work-life balance
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 30, 2026
2 hours ago
guitar
AIMusic
AI is splitting the music world. This 49-year-old guitarist used it to keep playing after Parkinson’s
By Mustakim Hasnath and The Associated PressMay 30, 2026
3 hours ago
Russian spies are more aggressively trying to steal Western technology as sanctions add to mounting problems for Putin’s wartime economy
EuropeRussia
Russian spies are more aggressively trying to steal Western technology as sanctions add to mounting problems for Putin’s wartime economy
By Emma Burrows and The Associated PressMay 30, 2026
4 hours ago
Matt Rogers
Commentarystart-ups
I worked with Steve Jobs at Apple, where every OS update killed startups. AI founders are about to face the same thing
By Matt RogersMay 30, 2026
6 hours ago
ts
CybersecurityLaw
Taylor Swift just exposed a blind spot in AI law — and it’s bigger than copyright
By Daryl Lim and The ConversationMay 30, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens
Magazine
As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens
By Emma HinchliffeMay 27, 2026
3 days ago
As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales
Success
As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales
By Emma BurleighMay 28, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 29, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 29, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 29, 2026
1 day ago
Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt
Economy
Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt
By Shawn TullyMay 30, 2026
11 hours ago
UBS says Ron DeSantis has a problem with his plan to help 92% of homeowners save on property taxes: His own state's data
Personal Finance
UBS says Ron DeSantis has a problem with his plan to help 92% of homeowners save on property taxes: His own state's data
By Nick LichtenbergMay 28, 2026
2 days ago
Jamie Dimon tells Gen Z to 'learn how to think, learn how to earn respect' as he describes 'great meeting' with Zohran Mamdani
Success
Jamie Dimon tells Gen Z to 'learn how to think, learn how to earn respect' as he describes 'great meeting' with Zohran Mamdani
By Nick LichtenbergMay 29, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.