From the Ebola outbreak to Ferguson protests, 2014 was a year of news that rocked the world. But which one of those stories had the biggest impact on Americans?
Mashable posed that question to 1,502 people in the U.S. We surveyed a wide-ranging demographic: both male and female, ages 18 to 65, living in rural and urban communities. (You can see a breakdown at the bottom of this story.)
We asked only one question. The respondent could only select one out of six answers — presented in random order — or he or she could write in a response.
Q: What was the most important news story of 2014?
Ukraine-Russia conflict
Ebola outbreak
Disappearance of MH370
Rise of the Islamic State (ISIS)
Ferguson
Midterm elections
Other (fill in)
Summary
When looking at the average results for all respondents, the Ebola outbreak and ISIS were a near tie. Meanwhile, the Ukraine-Russia conflict was merely a distant memory.
Male vs. Female
More than 30% of the 700 men surveyed said ISIS was the biggest story of the year, while 36.6% of women said Ebola was the more important news event.
MALE
FEMALE
Factoring in the overall results, men picked the rise of ISIS more than women — 31.3% vs. 21.1%, respectively.
By age
The Ebola outbreak was the reigning story for most age groups, but Ferguson was a close second for respondents ages 45 to 54. Compare that to the 65 and over age group, where Ferguson dropped to last with just 6.7%.
18 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65+
Urban density
The only story that was statistically significant was the Ebola outbreak for urban-dwellers. Ebola and ISIS were too close to call for suburban and rural respondents. Ferguson, however, kept a solid third place in all three.
URBAN
SUBURBAN
RURAL
Who took the survey
BONUS: WHAT HAPPENED IN 2014