Six in ten Brazilians are interested in science and technology, according to a survey : Revista Pesquisa Fapesp

More than half (60.3%) of Brazilians say they are interested or very interested in science and technology (S&T), according to data from the 2023 Survey on Public Perception of S&T in Brazil. The results were released on May 15 by the Center for Management and Strategic Studies (CGEE) and the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). The figure is almost unchanged since 2019, when it was 61%. “The public still sees science as offering more benefits than harm, but people have a more critical perspective and believe that more investment in science is needed,” says historian Adriana Badaró, coordinator of the study.

The sixth edition of the survey included new elements, such as the views on climate change and disinformation. The data revealed that half of the 1,931 respondents (50.8%) were very frequently exposed to fake news, while another 29.2% said they see this type of content occasionally and only 5.1% claimed never to have encountered it. Participants aged 16 or older from all regions of the country were interviewed between November and December 2023.

Alexandre Affonso / Revista Pesquisa FAPESP

The survey also found that social media has advanced as a source of knowledge: in 2023, almost 40% of respondents frequently sought and consumed information about science, technology, health, and the environment on social media, messaging apps, and websites (see infographic) — until 2015, television was the leading source. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp were the most used social networks.

“The use of social media is growing, as is exposure to fake news. It is important to analyze these two data points together to find clues on how to combat scientific disinformation,” says sociologist Marcelo Paiva, technical advisor at CGEE. The center is considering the idea of conducting surveys on social media and disinformation at shorter intervals of two years — the current public perception surveys are conducted every four years or more (1987, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2019).

Regarding climate change, 95.4% of respondents said that they were aware that it was occurring, of which 78.2% believe that it is primarily caused by humans, as suggested by scientific evidence, and 19.6% say that it is mostly natural.

Ahead of science and technology, the topics of most interest to the participants were medicine and health (77.9%), the environment (76.2%), and religion (70.5%). For 66.2% of those interviewed, science and technology is entirely beneficial or more beneficial than harmful to humanity — a lower proportion than in 2019 (72.1%). This figure was as high as 81.2% in 2010. The percentage who see science and technology as neutral — offering both benefits and harm — grew from 18.9% in 2019 to 24.6% in 2023. Badaró points out that this change does not necessarily indicate the growth of a negative perspective. “Historically, Brazil stands out as a very optimistic country when it comes to science. It may be that in recent years, the public has been developing a more critical view of science, but having a critical view is not a bad thing,” he explains.

The historian notes that this hypothesis is reinforced by another piece of information: when asked whether the government should increase, maintain, or reduce investment in S&T, 82% of Brazilians supported an increase and 12% said that current funding should be maintained. In 2019, only 66% supported an increase and 24% wanted the same level to be maintained.

The number of people who said they had visited zoos, parks, and botanical gardens in the previous 12 months also increased from 24% in 2019 to 32.7% in 2023. This figure is still lower than it was in 2015, however, when it was 41.5%. Visits to science and technology museums were mentioned by 11.5% of respondents, compared to 6.3% in 2019 and 12.3% in 2015.

There is still a lot of work to do when it comes to knowledge of Brazilian science, according to the survey. Only 17.9% of Brazilians were able to name a Brazilian scientific research institution in 2023: the Butantan Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), and University of São Paulo (USP) were the most mentioned. Just 9.6% could recall the name of a Brazilian scientist, such as Carlos Chagas (1878-1934) or Oswaldo Cruz (1872-1917).

These figures still represent an increase of almost 9% since 2019 in the number of people who could remember a research institution and 3% who could name a scientist. Badaró believes this could be a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many institutions and scientists were highlighted in the news.

Simone Pallone, a researcher from the Laboratory for Advanced Studies in Journalism (LABJOR) at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) who did not participate in the study, expected this growth to be greater. “With the pandemic and the high exposure of institutes, scientists, and the scientific process itself, I thought there would be a more significant increase in general interest in S&T and knowledge about these elements,” she says. She also highlights that there has been a downward trend in data such as the interest of respondents in S&T and the environment, which are now lower than they were in 2010, when they were 64.2% and 83% respectively.

Pallone emphasizes that the survey results are important for guiding public policy and that they can also support more in-depth studies. “The ideal approach would be to analyze interest and confidence in S&T using qualitative methodologies, such as ethnography and in-depth interviews, to better understand what people think about the sector,” she proposes. Paiva, from the CGEE, suggests that the slight rise in some figures that had fallen in the previous survey could point to a new trend. “Brazil went through a crisis of public trust in its institutions, including scientific ones, and now it may be recovering,” he suggests.

Report
CENTER FOR MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC STUDIES (CGEE). Public Perception of S&T in Brazil 2023. Executive Summary. Brasília, DF. CGEE, 2024.

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