them has

Biased information processing is a relevant factor driving the perceived
increase in polarization among the American public. Even if Democrats and
Republicans may agree on some policy positions, they tend to increasingly
dislike and distrust one another and to perceive that the social distance
between
alternative
conceptualization of polarization is often called “affective polarization”
(Iyengar et al. 2012) or “psychological polarization” (Settle 2018) as opposed
to “ideological polarization,” which would be limited to divergence of political
views. This distinction may help us reconcile the mixed empirical results: It is
possible that increased exposure to cross-cutting views on social media is
moderating citizens’ political views while at the same time exacerbating their
perceived social distance with respect to the partisan outgroup.

expanded

(Mason

2018).

This
Social_Media_and_Democracy