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The verdict on 2018: "Great" for me, "worrisome" for country

Data: Survey Monkey online poll conducted Dec. 10-17, 2018, among 6,075 adults. Total margin of error is ±2.0 percentage points; Poll methodology; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios

Americans are just a bit more upbeat about what 2018 meant to them personally compared to what it meant for the U.S., according to an Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.

Between the lines: By a very small margin, "great" was the word people used most frequently to describe the year they had — but they also picked a lot of negative words, like "exhausting," "worrisome," "hectic" and "chaotic." And all of the top words they used to describe 2018 for the U.S. were negative, starting with "worrisome."

Other findings:

  • Most of the results didn't change that much from a similar survey Axios and SurveyMonkey did last year. But the "worrisome" score for the U.S. dropped a bit — from 52% last year to 48% this year.
  • Democrats were less likely to say the year was "worrisome" (44% last year, 36% this year). Same with women: 38% last year, 31% this year.
  • Teenagers are way more tired than the rest of us: 52% described their year as "exhausting." (In fairness, they do have a lot of homework.)

Methodology: The data on adults are based on a SurveyMonkey online poll conducted among adults ages 18 and older in the U.S. Respondents were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography. The survey was conducted Dec. 10–17 among 6,075 adults. The modeled error estimate  for the full sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points and full crosstabs are available here.

The data on teens come from a SurveyMonkey online poll conducted among teenagers age 13-17 in the U.S. Respondents were sampled from SurveyMonkey Audience, a nonprobability online panel. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography. The survey was conducted Dec. 10–16 among 802 teens. The modeled error estimate for the full sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points and full crosstabs are available here.

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