Twenty-five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, most Americans who were alive at the time still remember where they were when they first heard the news, while a growing number of younger adults know about the attacks only through what they have been taught or told.
A new survey by Pew Research Center found that 83 per cent of US adults born before 2001 remember exactly where they were or what they were doing when they learned about the attacks. Among those who were at least 10 years old in 2001, the figure rises to 93 per cent.
The findings come as the United States approaches the 25th anniversary of the attacks on 11 September 2001, when terrorists hijacked four passenger planes. Two were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, another struck the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft.
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and had a lasting impact on American society, politics and public life.
Pew Research Center's survey found that 10 per cent of US adults today were born after the attacks and therefore have no personal memory of that day. Among adults aged 18 to 24, most first learned about 9/11 through education.
Six in 10 young adults in this age group said they first heard about the attacks in class or through schoolwork. Another 16 per cent said they first learned about them from family or friends, while 8 per cent said they discovered the events through something they had read or watched themselves. One per cent mentioned another source, while 14 per cent were unsure how they first learned about the attacks.
The survey suggests that the way Americans remember 9/11 is increasingly shaped by the distance of time and by the experiences of people who were not yet born when the attacks happened.
For older Americans, however, the memory remains particularly vivid. Pew found that the proportion remembering exactly where they were when they heard the news remains high among people who were old enough to understand what was happening at the time.
The attacks also produced an immediate emotional response across the United States. Research conducted in the weeks following 9/11 recorded widespread feelings of fear, anger and sadness, alongside strong public support for military action against those responsible.
Pew Research Center has continued to study Americans' attitudes towards 9/11 and its consequences over the past quarter-century. Its latest survey was conducted among 5,166 US adults from 24 to 30 August 2026.
As the anniversary approaches, the findings highlight a significant generational change: for millions of Americans, 9/11 is a personal memory, while for an increasing number of younger people it is an event they know only through history lessons, family stories and other accounts.
Based on research and reporting by Pew Research Center.
