Half of all US adults say they plan to kiss someone at midnight this New Year’s Eve
At the heart of many New Year's traditions is a simpler past-time – staying awake long enough to usher in the start of a new year. Whether Americans plan on watching the ball drop or kissing someone when the clock strikes 12, new YouGov Omnibus research reveals that 43% of people say they stay up until midnight every year, while a third (34%) say they do “sometimes”.
Three-quarters of Americans (77%) may be up this Sunday night to welcome in 2018, according to their answers for previous New Years where they stayed up “every year” or “sometimes”. Democrats are the likeliest political affiliates to say they burn the midnight oil every New Year’s Eve (49%), whereas Republicans are ten percentage points less likely to say the same (39%).
Those living in the South (80%) are the likeliest inhabitants of the nation’s four regions to say that they either stay up until midnight “every year” or “sometimes,” followed by the Northeast (79%), Midwest (77%), and West (72%).
Age also appears to play a role. At least half (52%) of millennials (ages 18-34) say they stay up every year. Only a third (34%) of Americans aged 55 or over, however, say the same. While one in five Americans (20%) say they generally don’t stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve, millennials are half as likely to say that (11%). Those 55 or over are much likelier to say they don’t stay up (29%).
Another New Year’s Eve tradition that often accompanies counting down the seconds is kissing someone at midnight. Half of Americans report plans to smooch someone at midnight, whether that’s someone they’re in a relationship with (44%), someone they know but aren’t dating (4%), or a stranger (2%).
Over a third of Americans (36%) say they won’t be kissing anyone this New Year’s Eve and some (14%) are unsure what kissing arrangements New Year's Eve has in store for them.
Learn more about YouGov Omnibus research
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