Conversations about politics have become so stressful and exhausting that a majority of people prefer to avoid them all together.
Most Americans think the tone and nature of political debate in the U.S. have become more negative and less fact-based in recent years, according to the Pew Research Center.
Data shows an overwhelming 84% majority of adults say political debate has become less respectful over the last several years, while only 4% say it has become more respectful. About one-in-ten (12%) say it hasn't changed.
Similarly, 78% say political debate has become less fact-based over the last several years, while only 5% say it has become more fact-based, according to Pew Research. Just 16% say it has not changed much.
"Around six-in-ten U.S. adults (61%) say having political conversations with people they disagree with is generally 'stressful and frustrating,' while about a third (36%) say these types of conversations are generally 'interesting and informative,'" the research center noted. "
The data also shows nearly two-thirds of adults (65%) always or often feel exhausted when they think about politics these days, and a majority (55%) also always or often feels angry when thinking about politics. On the other hand, one-in-ten always or often feels hopeful, and just 4% feels excited when thinking about politics.
When asked to describe U.S. politics these days, about 8 in 10 (79%) responded with a negative word or phrase, while just 2% offer a positive word or phrase and 10% say something neutral, according to the data.
"The word 'divisive' (and variations such as 'dividing') appears most frequently among the responses, with 8% saying this. An additional 2% use the related term 'polarized.' Second-most frequent is 'corrupt' (chosen by 6% of respondents)," Pew Research noted. "Other common words include those that suggest that politics today just doesn't work, with 'messy,' 'chaos,' 'broken' and 'dysfunctional' each among the top 15 words."
The survey data is nearly identical to views four years ago.