How Polarized U.S. Politics Are Driving Neighbors Apart

Research has shown that face-to-face conversation can reduce prejudices and change voters’ opinions on certain issues. But productive conversation, or any conservation at all, seems to be getting more rare. Thanks to more time spent online, longer work hours, economic segregation and the continuing spread of suburbia, Americans have become increasingly isolated from one another, and from different groups, over the past several decades. (One indicator: About 30 percent of Americans say they have never interacted with their neighbors, and only 20 percent interact frequently. In the 1970s, those figures were roughly reversed.)

Heightened political polarization seems to be another factor causing Americans to keep to themselves, at least across party lines. A new study by the Pew Research Center focused on interaction across party lines bolsters that idea. It shows that political views influence even the traits and habits that Americans prefer to see in their neighbors, and that conversations across the red/blue divide aren’t exactly comfortable.