Havas Media is out with a new multi-country study about consumer perspectives on culture and media that shows that while respondents still place significant emphasis on people and the planet, societal issues that directly impact individuals on a personal level take precedence.  

For example, the study found that respondents ranked health and wellness as the most important societal topic, followed by the cost-of-living crisis (80% and 79% respectively.)  

Third-ranked was data privacy and digital privacy (79%). The next four-ranked important topics: sustainability and climate change (68%), diversity, equity and inclusion (57%), fake news and information (54%) and artificial intelligence (46%). 

The top-three topics that people keep up with the most are health, well-being and fitness, news and politics and the economy.  

Social media ranked as the most “meaningful” channel in their lives, per the survey, followed by TV, search, websites and newspapers, respectively. 

The study goes into detail about the perceived benefits that respondents derive from various media. For example, search is number one in simplifying lives, followed by social media and websites. TV was tops in entertaining, followed by social media and video on demand.  

For engagement, social media was number one, followed by TV.  

In general, people prefer a “digital future-leaning society,” the study found. “However, the demand for more rigor around trust, ethics and honesty in the mediascape endures.” 

Television remains the channel most trusted for accurate information. Newspapers, search, news websites and radio rounded out the top five. 

Per the study, the top three responsibilities that consumers believe advertisers have are: