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conradhackett.bsky.social
Conrad Hackett
@conradhackett.bsky.social
28K followers 3.5K following 1.7K posts
Demography nerd at Pew Research Center
Global religious change, sociology
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
conradhackett.bsky.social
While there continues to be much attention paid to the growth of the religiously unaffiliated population in Europe and North America, two-thirds of the world’s 1.9 billion religious “nones” (67%) live in China.
1 country is home to 67% of all religiously unaffiliated people (and 18% of the world's population).
December 9, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
mcpli.bsky.social
A fascinating (and very cool) piece
December 9, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
conradhackett.bsky.social
NEW DATA: Where the teens are
YouTube 92%
TikTok 68%
Instagram 63%
Snapchat 55%
Facebook 31% (down from 71%)
WhatsApp 24%
Reddit 17%
X 16% (down from 33%)
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/12/09/teens-social-media-and-ai-chatbots-2025/
Chart showing YouTube stands out for being used by nearly all teens. Roughly nine-in-ten report ever using it. About six-in-ten or more say they use TikTok and Instagram. A somewhat smaller share say they go on Snapchat (55%). Fewer use Facebook (31%) and WhatsApp (24%). And no more than about one-in-five say the same of Reddit or X (formerly Twitter). WhatsApp is one platform that stands out for its growth in recent years. Today, roughly a quarter of teens say they use WhatsApp, up from 17% in 2022. X and Facebook have declined in use over the past decade. Today, 16% of teens use X, down from 23% in 2022 and 33% in 2014-15. And Facebook, once the go-to platform for teens, is used today by about three-in-ten teens. This is far lower than the 71% in 2014-15, though on par with 2022. The shares of teens who use other sites or apps, like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, have stayed relatively stable in recent years.
December 9, 2025 at 9:51 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
About 3 in 10 young teens. say they use AI chatbots (like ChatGPT) daily
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/12/09/teens-social-media-and-ai-chatbots-2025/
About three-in-ten teens say they use AI chatbots every day, including 16% who do so several times a day or almost constantly. Daily use of chatbots differs somewhat by race and ethnicity as well as age: Race and ethnicity: About a third of Black (35%) and Hispanic teens (33%) report using AI chatbots daily. A smaller share of White teens (22%) say the same. Age: 31% of teens ages 15 to 17 say they use chatbots on a daily basis, compared with about a quarter of those ages 13 to 14 (24%).
December 9, 2025 at 9:57 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
NEW DATA: Where the teens are
YouTube 92%
TikTok 68%
Instagram 63%
Snapchat 55%
Facebook 31% (down from 71%)
WhatsApp 24%
Reddit 17%
X 16% (down from 33%)
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/12/09/teens-social-media-and-ai-chatbots-2025/
Chart showing YouTube stands out for being used by nearly all teens. Roughly nine-in-ten report ever using it. About six-in-ten or more say they use TikTok and Instagram. A somewhat smaller share say they go on Snapchat (55%). Fewer use Facebook (31%) and WhatsApp (24%). And no more than about one-in-five say the same of Reddit or X (formerly Twitter). WhatsApp is one platform that stands out for its growth in recent years. Today, roughly a quarter of teens say they use WhatsApp, up from 17% in 2022. X and Facebook have declined in use over the past decade. Today, 16% of teens use X, down from 23% in 2022 and 33% in 2014-15. And Facebook, once the go-to platform for teens, is used today by about three-in-ten teens. This is far lower than the 71% in 2014-15, though on par with 2022. The shares of teens who use other sites or apps, like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, have stayed relatively stable in recent years.
December 9, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
umakarma.bsky.social
Okay, this is fascinating!
December 9, 2025 at 5:26 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
Globally, more than one out of three births now occur to women aged 30 and above, compared to only one in four in 1990. New paper by Thomas Spoorenberg & @vegardskirbekk.bsky.social
<em>Population and Development Review</em> | Population Council Journal | Wiley Online Library
This study documents the concentration of childbearing to later reproductive ages, analyzing global patterns of fertility postponement from 1950 to 2040. We study late fertility (ages 30+) and very l...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:04 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
December 9, 2025 at 3:00 AM
conradhackett.bsky.social
Many claims float around about the size of China's Christian population. However, based on the share of Chinese people who self-identify as Christian in surveys, China's Christian population may be about the same size as Indonesia's.
www.pewresearch.org/religion/fea...
The 10 countries with the largest numbers of Christians are home to a combined 1.1 billion, or 47% of the world’s Christians. While media stories in the 2010s often suggested that China was on the cusp of having the largest Christian population in the world, surveys indicate that China’s Christian population remains outside the 10 largest in the world. Based on religious self-identification measured in surveys, we estimate there were roughly 25 million Chinese Christians in 2020. For an in-depth analysis of Christianity in China, refer to the Christianity chapter of our 2023 report “Measuring Religion in China.”
December 9, 2025 at 2:52 AM
conradhackett.bsky.social
MY LATEST: Many religions are heavily concentrated in a few countries.
Many religions are heavily concentrated in a few countries
Half of the world’s population lives in just seven countries. But some of the world’s religious groups are even more concentrated than that.
www.pewresearch.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:35 AM
conradhackett.bsky.social
I wish Kindle’s text to speech was as good as the NYT automated reader, which is pretty amazing at 1.5x speed.
December 5, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
conradhackett.bsky.social
Republicans increasingly oppose requiring healthy kids to get MMR vaccines to attend public schools
2016 19%
2019 20%
2023 42%
2025 47%
www.pewresearch.org/science/2025... 🧪
Chart showing that since 2016, a vast majority of U.S. adults have said healthy children should be required to get the vaccine to attend public school because of the potential risks for others when children are not vaccinated. But support for school MMR requirements dropped from 82% in 2019 to 69% in 2025. This decline is largely because of a steep slide in support among Republicans. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 79% of Republicans said healthy children should be required to get the MMR vaccine to attend school. This share sunk to 57% in 2023, then to 52% in 2025. In contrast, Democrats’ views on school MMR requirements have remained stable, with solid majority support.
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
conradhackett.bsky.social
Who should have a major role in making childhood vaccine policy decisions?
💉Democrats are most likely to say medical scientists 🧪
💉Republicans are most likely to say parents

www.pewresearch.org/science/2025...
Chart shows far more Republicans than Democrats say parents with young children should have a major role in policy decisions about childhood vaccines Previous Center work has found that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support scientists playing an active role in policy debates about scientific issues. Similarly, a much larger share of Democrats (85%) than Republicans (62%) say medical scientists should have a major role in decisions about childhood vaccine policy. Views are reversed when it comes to the role of parents with young children. Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say parents of young children should have a major role in policy decisions about childhood vaccines (71% vs. 46%). There are smaller partisan differences for the other groups we asked about. For example, 44% of Republicans say the general public should play a major role, compared with 30% of Democrats. And small shares in both parties say health insurance company leaders should have a major role (14% Republicans and 18% Democrats).
November 23, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
mikedrucker.bsky.social
I wrote a bit for McSweeney's about Isaac Chotiner interviewing Santa Claus. Just a little something for the holiday season. Enjoy!
The New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner Interviews Santa Claus
For several centuries, Santa Claus has been one of the most prolific mythical gift-givers in the world. Formerly known as Saint Nicholas of Myra, a...
www.mcsweeneys.net
December 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
"The Growth of Christianity in China May Have Come to an End" by @yunpingtong.bsky.social & me is the most read article on @sociusjournal.bsky.social over the last 6 months.

We're grateful our research has connected with readers!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Our paper abstract says, "Christianity in China grew rapidly in the decades following the end of the Cultural Revolution. Some scholars and journalists claim that Christianity in China is still expanding in the twenty-first century. In this study, the authors contrast evidence for such claims with the results from two decades of survey data. In 19 nationally representative surveys conducted since the early 2000s, the authors find no clear evidence that Christianity continues to grow as a share of China’s population. Surveys conducted in the past decade indicate that about 2 percent of Chinese adults identify as Christian. Contrary to claims that Christianity is rising in popularity among young Chinese, surveys consistently find that Christian identification is more common among seniors than among young adults. Despite their limitations, the authors argue that surveys provide crucial information about the recent trajectory of China’s Christian population."
December 2, 2025 at 6:57 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
The amazing graphic in post below is from article that was really published in Scientific Reports.

Altmetric scores reveal nearly 2k people here posted/reposted about the article.
Sure, X/Twitter has more users but Altmetric counts <100 tweets about article.
nature.altmetric.com/details/1847...
Image shows an article was mentioned by 3 blogs, 74 X users, 1 YouTuber, and 1815 Bluesky users.
December 2, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
conradhackett.bsky.social
The European Union had a total fertility rate of 1.38 children per woman in 2023.
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/sta...
Map shows total fertility rates in various regions of Europe in 2023.
December 1, 2025 at 6:29 AM
conradhackett.bsky.social
The European Union had a total fertility rate of 1.38 children per woman in 2023.
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/sta...
Map shows total fertility rates in various regions of Europe in 2023.
December 1, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
conradhackett.bsky.social
This seems like an important story.
The US is deregulating banks. Will the rest of the world follow?
New rules will boost lending and profits and entrench American dominance. But critics say they could lead to another crash
www.ft.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
epopppp.bsky.social
This means NSF dissertation improvement grants in the social sciences are simply...not happening.
killgrove.bsky.social Kristina Killgrove @killgrove.bsky.social · 29d
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.

Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:16 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
This seems like an important story.
The US is deregulating banks. Will the rest of the world follow?
New rules will boost lending and profits and entrench American dominance. But critics say they could lead to another crash
www.ft.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:49 AM
conradhackett.bsky.social
Since so many people here probably just see very recent posts (or re-posts), it’s okay to do some self-loving - go ahead and hit the re-post button on your own post that may have been overlooked.
dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social Duncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 29d
Could be that my posts are just bad and unengaging - but I also miss other people's posts that I'd have been interested in, so I think it's an algo thing.
November 27, 2025 at 4:22 AM
conradhackett.bsky.social
It’s hard to know who will see your posts on any site but here you can take advantage of custom feeds and recommend them to others who may share the same interest.

I follow a “demography” feed someone made that pulls any post with the word “demography” and I made a “data” feed of a few accounts.
dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social Duncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 29d
Bluesky seems far worse than Twitter at ensuring your content gets seen by your proximate academic network.

Discover let's you see the big posts, followed shows you whay people posted in the last five minutes - but the in between posts get lost in the cracks.
sobchuk.bsky.social Oleg Sobchuk 🇺🇦 @sobchuk.bsky.social · Nov 25
Before the monstrous transformation of Twitter to X, it was considered normal to be active on academic Twitter. Now, even though we've migrated to Bluesky ("safe space"), I feel that many ppl (including myself) are less active in posting anything. Have you noticed this trend? Or am I imagining this?
November 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Reposted by Conrad Hackett
bencollins.bsky.social
This is true. It is the best email I got this year.
I work as an elder and hospice caregiver, which I am oddly passionate about. I can love on them shamelessly and no one complains about my codependence. It's a win-win situation. Many of my caregiving colleagues complain about the repetitive questions and, sometimes reactions, of the elderly, especially when those patients happen to read the newspaper, especially with the current downward spiral of our country — as if these people haven't lived through enough horror... I love my dementia peeps, but sometimes wonder if there's a Guinness Book World Record for how many times an hour a dementia patient can repeat the same question — it's got to be in the hundreds. At least with small children, they ask different questions. Dementia patients will get stuck on one short question and ask it until you can interrupt their train(carousel) of thought and successfully redirect their attention. That carousel is pretty manic sometimes. A couple days ago, I picked up my mail from the post office and drove over to the nursing home to take (let's call her "Miss Daisy") Miss Daisy out for a drive. Before we took off on our road trip, to the end of The Road and back, in our landlocked little town (Juneau, Alaska), I set my copy of The Onion down in front of her. Over our two-hour excursion, tiny Miss Daisy read that front page at least a dozen times and each time she would snicker, giggle, and guffaw, then put it down on the dash board and, a minute later, discover it anew. I think it was the best afternoon of my life. We don't often hear them laugh and when they do, it's the sweetest thing you've ever heard. ... Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the really important work all of you do. You make the world a better place.
November 26, 2025 at 9:50 PM
conradhackett.bsky.social
"Jihadist violence constitutes the most potent challenge to state stability in West Africa and risks making the region the epicenter of global terrorism. Last year, 51% of global terrorism-related deaths occurred in the Sahel, and al-Qaeda is on the verge of toppling the Malian junta."
November 26, 2025 at 4:06 PM