Many young Americans are choosing to avoid the potential minefield of political discussions and tense debates among relatives by ditching family gatherings, a new poll reveals.
A new "Political Avoidance" survey of over 2,000 Americans conducted by The Harris Poll reveals that 51% of Gen Z opts to skip family gatherings, while four in 10 Gen Z and Millennials (38%) admit to dreading such gatherings due to the looming specter of political debates – a stark contrast to the 20% of Gen X and Boomers who share this sentiment.
The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll from November 11 to 12, 2023, among a nationally representative sample of 2,095 U.S. adults.
The research subjects were comprised of 234 Gen Z (ages 18-25), 701 Millennials (ages 26-41), 544 Gen X (ages 42-57), and 616 Boomers (ages 58 and older).
The Harris poll found that 48% of Gen Z and Millennials admit they "have a hard time controlling" their emotions during political discussions and over half say they curate social media to avoid politics. Forty-one percent also admit to secretly unfollowing people based on their political content.
"Gen X and Boomers opt for peace, while Gen Z and Millennials deem certain topics off-limits," the poll revealed.
Speaking to the concept of the "silent majority," Harris discovered that 85% of Americans keep their political opinions close, even when it comes to close family and friends.
Additionally, younger generations tend to be more reserved about politics than older generations, even when it comes to their romantic partners or spouses.
When asked what people have done to avoid talking about politics, 45% of Gen Z said they had canceled or walked out of a date to curtail political topics.
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Sixty-one percent of people said they had changed the subject when people started talking politics, while 56% avoid watching the news, 54% stayed off social media, 48% left the room immediately and 36% skipped hanging out with peers.
Shockingly, 45% admitted that they avoid certain friends and 44% admitted to eschewing particular family members.
Outside significant others, most Americans do not feel it is necessary to be politically aligned with the people in their lives.
Forty-seven percent also said Americans are "not as divided as the media" makes them out to be.
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However, Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to seek political alignment among partners, friends, spiritual and religious groups, and even among their primary care providers and therapists.
While contention is a cause for concern among Americans, most say they are willing to engage in discussions with people who hold different viewpoints. In fact, 76% of Americans prefer that other people "be open to listening" to other ideas rather than agree with them.
