Pew: Liberals and Conservatives Live in Different Worlds

According to a recent Pew survey, liberals, conservatives, and those with mixed views live in different social and informational worlds. Consistent liberals and conservatives are more likely to be passionate about politics and maintain varying degrees of ideological cohesion in their lives. Conservatives are more likely to be loyal to one media outlet than liberals and are more likely to report that they have friends or contacts that share their political views. Liberals have a spread of media outlets they trust, are more likely to have contacts that have different perspectives, but are much more likely to isolate themselves from people who express different political opinions. On the other hand, those with mixed political views are seen as being more ambivalent toward politics, but have social circles with varying political outlooks.
Political Polarization & Media Habits | Pew Research Center's Journalism Project

Fiddytree said:

According to a recent Pew survey, liberals, conservatives, and those with mixed views live in different social and informational worlds. Consistent liberals and conservatives are more likely to be passionate about politics and maintain varying degrees of ideological cohesion in their lives. Conservatives are more likely to be loyal to one media outlet than liberals and are more likely to report that they have friends or contacts that share their political views. Liberals have a spread of media outlets they trust, are more likely to have contacts that have different perspectives, but are much more likely to isolate themselves from people who express different political opinions. On the other hand, those with mixed political views are seen as being more ambivalent toward politics, but have social circles with varying political outlooks.
Political Polarization & Media Habits | Pew Research Center's Journalism Project

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This image, from the first page of the report, concerns me. Doesn't surprise me, but it concerns me because it is empirical evidence of the divide we all feel has occurred:

Beaudreaux said:

This image, from the first page of the report, concerns me. Doesn't surprise me, but it concerns me because it is empirical evidence of the divide we all feel has occurred:

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I have a degree of skepticism about the amount of polarization in comparison with the past, but it does concern me. I tend to have little patience for the social purity conservatives and liberals are wanting to have, while still wanting politics to continue to work. I also don't respond well to the social isolationism demanded by folks. On occasion, it was funny, but I did experience the hardcore liberal friends publicly threatening people that they would be blocked on Facebook for discussing a contrary opinion on a given issue (or even having friends who do this). I'm sure it's a somewhat rare event in most circles, but I thought it was beyond comprehension.

Fiddytree said:

I have a degree of skepticism about the amount of polarization in comparison with the past, but it does concern me.

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I trust Pew to get the numbers correct. And, given the dramatic changes to our country in the last decade, I can understand the movement apart.

I am concerned because of how dangerous it could be, if we continue to move apart, rather than to move back to the previous two decades delta in the divide. We thought back then that we had a divide, but today... it a chasm, that if we are not careful may not be able to be bridged.