Americans Optimistic That 2015 Will Be Better Than 2014; Survey Reveals

The Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, co-organizers of Times Square New Year’s Eve, along with the Associated Press recently unveiled the results of the second annual AP-Times Square New Year’s Eve poll. The poll highlighted the public’s expectations for the New Year and captured their opinions about the most important news stories and most memorable pop culture moments of 2014.

The poll showed that many Americans are optimistic that 2015 will be a better year for them, personally, than 2014. 48 percent of the participants responded that 2015 will be a better year than 2014, compared with only 11 percent who thought 2015 will be worse. Reflecting on the year they’ve just been through, 34 percent think 2014 was better than 2013, 15 percent say it was worse and 50 percent say there was no difference.

On New Year’s Eve, 61 percent of Americans, or approximately 194 million people, will watch the Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration, including two-thirds of women (66 percent) and over half of men (55 percent).

The survey also highlighted the public’s take on the most important news and pop culture stories of the year. When asked to rate the importance of 10 top news stories, 54 percent of Americans said that “the Islamic State militants gain territory in Iraq and Syria, behead hostages; US and allies respond with air strikes” was a “very” or “extremely important” news story. Ebola ranked nearly as high, with 53 percent of people naming it as a “very” or “extremely” important story. The U.S. elections – Republican Senate takeover and Immigration were also near the top at 52 percent and 47 percent, respectively.

Unlike in 2013, when the implementation of the 2010 health care law was named by a quarter of Americans as the most important event in that year, no single event stood out to Americans as the biggest of 2014. When asked to name what was the most important news story of 2014, without a pre-determined list, about 1 in 10 Americans named each of three major events – the rise of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and the subsequent U.S. response (11 percent), the deaths of black men including Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police that sparked protests across the country (10 percent) and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa that led to cases in the United States (9 percent).

“It’s striking to see that even though the top news stories were about topics like Ebola, ISIS, and racial tensions, more people are optimistic than pessimistic about the year to come,” said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. “New Year’s Eve has always been a time to reflect on the challenges of the year past, but also an opportunity to start anew with hope.”

“From the more than 190 million American viewers, to the million revelers attending in person, to the billions watching across the globe, Times Square is where the world rings in the New Year,” said Jeffrey Straus, President of Countdown Entertainment. “We are honored to share in the joy, celebration, and hope that 2015 is expected to bring to so many.”

Most Americans plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve this year either at home (48 percent) or at the home of a friend or family member (20 percent). Another 8 percent plan to celebrate at a bar, restaurant or organized event.

The number of people expected to watch the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Drop online or on a mobile device grew to 3 percent this year.

Americans overwhelmingly viewed the suicide of Robin Williams and subsequent increase in discussion of mental health issues and addiction, as the most memorable pop culture moment of 2014. Placing second and third respectively were the decision by CVS to stop selling cigarettes and the Ice-Bucket Challenge phenomenon.

The complete breakdown of responses to ten of the top pop culture events of 2014, in order of those who responded either “very” or “somewhat memorable” with percentages in parentheses:

1. Actor Robin Williams commits suicide, prompting increased discussion of mental health issues and addiction (64 percent)
2. CVS stops selling cigarettes (39 percent)
3. Millions participate in the “ice-bucket challenge,” posting videos on social media of themselves dumping ice water on their heads and raising money for charity (37 percent)
4. Mo’ne Davis becomes first female pitcher to win a Little League World Series game, lands cover of Sports Illustrated (30 percent)
5. Michael Sam becomes first openly gay player drafted by NFL (21 percent)
6. Celebrity photos hacked: Private photos from Jennifer Lawrence, other celebrities stolen and posted online by Reddit user (14 percent)
7. Ellen DeGeneres’s selfie at the Oscars becomes most retweeted Tweet of all time (13 percent)
8. Taylor Swift goes pop, moves to New York City and becomes New York City’s “Global Welcome Ambassador” (10 percent)
9. George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin get married (10 percent)
10. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West get married (8 percent)