59 Percent of Americans Say Having Political Conversations with People of Opposing Views Is ‘Stressful, Frustrating’
A new survey found that 59 percent of U.S. adults say having political conversations with people they disagree with is “stressful and frustrating.”
Both Republicans and Democrats alike say political conversations have become more stressful.
Today, 58 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents say they find those conversations stressful, and six in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say the same.
In March 2016, 48 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of Democrats said political conversations with those they disagree with were “stressful and frustrating.”
Among White adults, 65 percent say they find talking about politics with people they disagree with to be stressful. Among Black adults, 43 percent said they find it stressful, 47 percent of Hispanics said the same, and 53 percent of Asian adults said the same.
According to the survey, 57 percent of those under 50 said they find those conversations stressful, compared with 61 percent of those who are 50 and older.
Political divisions have deepened in recent years, particularly following the Trump presidency, where many Americans held drastically different views.
Earlier this year, a study from the American Enterprise Institute found that 15 percent of adults ended a friendship over politics. Of those who did, 22 percent said they ended the relationship because the other supported former president Donald Trump.
The same survey found that just over half of Republicans, 53 percent, said they have at least some Democrats as friends. About one-third of Democrats said they have at least some Republican friends.
AEI found that Trump supporters were equally willing “to walk away from friends and cut ties.”
“People who are strong partisans tend to be more segregated socially,” said Daniel A. Cox, AEI’s resident scholar in polling and public opinion.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Pict Rider
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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