What the Ipsos Care-o-Meter teaches us about America

A poll called the Care-o-Meter? We get it — on the surface, it may seem like maybe not the most serious piece of social science research ever conducted.

But don’t let the cute name fool you. This tool has been a fascinating way to look at the zeitgeist of America in a very eventful time since it launched in April 2023.

It also shows that there are some definite disconnects between what people are seeing in their news (wherever they’re getting it) and what they care about. For those who either report news or create thought leadership, the Don’t Know/Do Care quadrant is especially meaningful, and the Know/Don’t Care should provide some caution.

Some trends we have observed:

• People really know and care about climate- and weather-related stories, especially anything having to do with wildfires and smoke.
• Pop culture has a hard time breaking through. As we have so few mass culture events anymore, so sports championships, award shows, prestige TV shows ending and the Pop-Tarts Bowl mascot… People neither Know or Care…
• …unless you’re the Super Bowl, or Taylor Swift. Then we at least Know. And even then, your odds of breaking into Know are much better if you combine the Super Bowl with Taylor Swift.
• Regardless, almost zero pop culture items make it into Care on either side of the Know line. Big exception: The U.S. women’s gymnastics team winning gold.
• Economic news, especially positive economic news, is often Don’t Know/Do Care. This is one of those points worth noting for editors and thought leaders.
• Science news (including some climate news) often has the biggest gaps between how few people are familiar and how much people care.
• Meme culture can force people to Know, but not Care about things. Alleged workplace romances being caught on the Coldplay kiss-cam and Cracker Barrel’s logo redesign, we’re looking at you.
• Political items tend to wind up in Know/Care. Some of those items are propelled by bipartisan concern. Some of those items can push through with major partisan splits underlying an overall Know and Care.

The top 10 most cared-about things:

1. Hurricane Milton causing widespread flooding and power outages in Florida
2. Wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area
3. Hurricane Helene causing widespread flooding and damage throughout the southeastern United States
4. The upcoming presidential election on November 5^th [in 2024]
5. Prices on everyday goods and services falling for the first time in four years
6. A worldwide technology outage disrupting business, communications, travel and more
7. Human cases of bird flu spreading through the U.S.
8. Wildfires in Maui
9. A new government report finding that Social Security’s trust fund will run out of money in 2033, and retirees will face automatic benefit cuts
10. President Trump announcing new tariffs on almost all imports

The 10 biggest gaps between how little people knew and how much they cared:

• Scientists discovering a potential link between Alzheimer's disease and gum disease
• Billions of crabs in Alaska dying off due to climate change
• Russia being suspected of a plot to blow up cargo planes in the U.S. and Europe
• Shortages of a key cancer drug leading to rationing and delayed treatments
• Prices on everyday goods and services falling for the first time in four years
• The last of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile being decommissioned
• The EPA mandating lead pipes be removed from the water system within 10 years
• A trailer filled with approximately 200 Bibles being set on fire in front of a Tennessee church on Easter
• A new government report finding that Social Security’s trust fund will run out of money in 2033, and retirees will face automatic benefit cuts
• Obesity rates in the U.S. improving after a decade of increases

10 things people really didn’t care about:

1. The mascot being “eaten” at the Pop-Tarts Bowl
2. “Anora” winning Best Picture at the Oscars
3. Taylor Swift not attending the most recent Kansas City Chiefs game after appearing as Travis Kelce’s guest two weeks in a row
4. The series finale of “Succession”
5. “The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White modeling in a new Calvin Klein ad campaign
6. The feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake
7. The L.A. Rams football team kicking a last second field goal, which covered the betting spread but didn’t change the outcome of the game
8. A bear named 128 Grazer winning the annual “Fat Bear Week” vote
9. Merriam-Webster picking “Authentic” as the Word of the Year
10. Kid Rock seen drinking a Bud Light at a concert, after leading a boycott of the brand

Five things we care about with the Care-o-Meter

• You can see the entire archive, including topical sorting, in our new and improved interactive Care-o-Meter.
• The items are really well distributed across the quadrants, which would appear to show that we’ve done a pretty good job curating beyond our bubble.
• When we present this to clients, they get it and want to know more, add items, create custom ones.
• When we tell people about the Care-o-Meter, they mostly wind up in Care, even if they didn’t Know.
• If you Google “what do Americans care about” the Care-o-Meter comes up No. 2, showing that Google cares about it.

Explore the Interactive Care-o-Meter

In the Interactive Care-o-Meter, you can view every question we've asked since April 2023, plotted by how much we know about it (left to right) and how much we care about it (bottom to top). 

Mouse over the legend to filter by topic, or click on a datapoint for full details. To open the Interactive Care-o-Meter in a new window, click here.