Socially Distant: How Our Divided Social Networks Explain Our Politics

Key Points

• Racial segregation among Americans is still common across most racial and ethnic groups. More than three-quarters (77 percent) of white Americans report their core social network includes only people who are also white. Nearly six in 10 (56 percent) black Americans have social networks composed entirely of people who are also black.
• The political composition of Americans’ networks matters. Democrats and Republicans embedded in homogeneous political networks express greater openness to rethinking their positions. Nearly half (46 percent) of people with politically diverse networks say they question their assumptions when talking to people with different political views. In contrast, only 34 percent of Americans with politically homogeneous networks say the same.
• Republicans and Democrats are sharply divided over the issue of discrimination in the US but are most at odds over the extent to which black Americans experience discrimination. Ninety-one percent of Democrats say black people face a lot of discrimination in American society, while fewer than half (42 percent) of Republicans agree.

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Executive Summary

Racial segregation among Americans’ most intimate relationships is still common across most racial and ethnic groups. More than three-quarters (77 percent) of white Americans report that their core social network includes only people who are also white. Close to six in 10 (56 percent) black Americans have social networks composed entirely of people who are also black. Less than half of Asian Americans (39 percent) and Hispanic Americans (30 percent) have core social networks that include only members of their own race or ethnic background.¹ 

Most partisans have close social ties that reflect their political predispositions. A majority (53 percent) of Republicans report that their core social network is exclusively composed of Donald Trump supporters. The pattern is nearly identical among Democrats (55 percent). 

Democrats and Republicans embedded in homogeneous political networks express greater partisan loyalty in their vote preference. Democratic voters with politically homogeneous networks are more likely to prefer Joe Biden than are those whose immediate social circle is more diverse (93 percent vs. 81 percent). Republican voters with homogeneous social networks express more consistent support for Trump than those with greater political diversity do (92 percent vs. 75 percent). 

Personal appeals to get politically involved work. Americans who are encouraged to participate in politics are far more likely to do so than are those who are not. Americans who have been encouraged to donate to a political candidate or cause in the past month are roughly four times more likely to report having made a political contribution than are those who were never asked (43 percent vs. 11 percent). 

Americans with politically diverse networks report more frequent criticism. More than half (54 percent) of Americans embedded in a politically diverse social network say they have been criticized for their views in the past 12 months, compared to 36 percent of Americans who have politically homogeneous networks. Equal numbers of Democrats (43 percent) and Republicans (43 percent) report that they have been criticized or attacked for expressing a political opinion in the past 12 months. 

Americans with politically like-minded social ties are less inclined to rethink their positions. Nearly half (46 percent) of people with politically diverse networks say they question their assumptions when talking to people with different political views. In contrast, only 34 percent of Americans with politically homogeneous networks say the same. 

Democrats would be far more upset than Republicans would be if their son or daughter married someone whose views of Trump were at odds with their own. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of Democrats who view Trump unfavorably say they would be at least somewhat upset if their son or daughter married a Trump supporter. In contrast, only 30 percent of Republicans with a favorable view of Trump would find this upsetting. 

Most Americans report having heard someone they know personally make a racially insensitive comment or joke. More than half (52 percent) of Americans report that someone they know personally made a remark or joke that was racially insensitive in the past 12 months. About one in five (17 percent) Americans report that this happened within the past week. Fewer than one in three (30 percent) Americans report that this has never happened to them. 

There is no greater disagreement between Democrats and Republicans than over the extent to which black people experience discrimination. Ninety-one percent of Democrats say black people face a lot of discrimination in American society, while fewer than half (42 percent) of Republicans agree. Nearly half (47 percent) of Republicans and 17 percent of Democrats say white people in the US experience a lot of discrimination. 

Most white Americans oppose removing Confederate names from public spaces, but those with racially diverse social networks express much stronger support. Half (50 percent) of white Americans with racially diverse social networks support the removal of Confederate names from streets and public buildings. About only one-third (35 percent) of white Americans with homogeneous networks support removing Confederate names. 

Introduction

America is experiencing a heated presidential election, a once in a generation pandemic, and major economic disruption and social unrest. At a time of so many unprecedented events, a sustained effort to document the public’s lives, experiences, and feelings can serve as a valuable resource to policymakers, scholars, and the media. This type of research has yielded important insights about how Americans are navigating ongoing economic and health challenges, struggling with social isolation, coping with evolving childcare, and handling workplace responsibilities. 

One limitation of this kind of research, though, is its exclusive focus on how our personal attributes and identities inform our thinking and influence our behavior. But our actions cannot be completely understood without considering the broader array of social constraints and incentives in our lives. By ignoring the rich and complex contours of American social relationships, we risk overestimating the importance of personal characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, gender, and age. 

The American National Social Network Survey is designed to help us understand how the nature of personal networks and relationships conditions personal behavior and influences decisions. The immediate social environment exerts a powerful influence over what we do, what we believe, and what we know. Without a grasp of the immediate social context, we will rely too heavily on individual characteristics, which are of course important but do not tell the whole story. 

Americans’ tendency to self-select into familiar social environments has been well established. Social ties are not developed haphazardly. Rather, the composition of social networks is determined by individual preferences and the broader social milieu. The characteristics of a neighborhood or community significantly determine the types of people one can meet. 

But geography is not the only operative constraint in determining the construction of social networks. Social characteristics, such as class, race and ethnicity, and religion, also play a determinative role due to a process of self-segregation whereby institutions created and maintained work to reinforce group identity and beliefs. 

In this current moment, what has been less well understood is how social self-segregation—the tendency of Americans to cultivate relationships that reinforce their perspectives and validate their experiences—structures what we think and how we behave. This tendency for people to associate with others of similar backgrounds significantly affects personal behavior. Our goal is to describe the structure of social relationships in the US— the size and diversity of personal social networks—and to better understand how these relationships influence various political and personal perspectives. 

Notes

1. The broad racial and ethnic groupings used in this analysis do not distinguish important differences based on nationality and
   culture among Hispanic and Asian respondents.