Most US Couples Share Same Political Opinions
When we talk about people we like, we often talk about the things we have in common. Perhaps you both like rock music, or dancing, or comic books.
But is it really important to have things in common with someone if you want to have a romantic relationship?
Well, sharing the same political opinions might be quite important. At least, that's according to a new study from the US.
The study is called I love you but I hate your politics, and the idea was to see whether couples in the US usually have the same political beliefs as one another.
The answer was quite clear: yes, they do.
In the US, the political climate is known to be very polarized. Many people are either Democrats or Republicans.
The Democrats have been represented in the White House by Barack Obama and Joe Biden; the Republicans by George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
The researchers looked at data from about 4,500 people, including more than 500 couples. This data was taken from studies done between 2020 and 2022.
Of all the people who were included, 42% said they supported Democrats, 32% supported Republicans and 22% supported independents.
The results showed that romantic relationships between people who support different political parties were not very common.
More than four out of five Democrats and Republicans had a partner who supported the same political party.
Only about 6% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans had a partner who supported the other main political party.
The researchers said that when we only spend time with people who have the same beliefs as us, we do not find out about how others think.
This may mean our own views become stronger because they're never challenged — which further increases polarization.
