A new study in the journal Political Communication by David Lazer et. al., a group of authors endeavor to answer an important question:

Do people influence each other’s views so that they converge over time or do they primarily affiliate (by choice or happenstance) with those of similar views?

The find the former to be the case:

We find significant conformity tendencies: Individuals shift their political views toward the political views of their associates…. We also find that political views are notably unimportant as a driver for the formation of relationships.

This is a heartening finding. It suggests that the “confirmation biasr” effect, where citizens seeks out views that already reinforce their own, is restricted to political information. The fact that we as US citizens are apolitical generally means we have more of a chance to “have our minds changed” by a friendship network. The trick is encouraging the formation of diverse, broad-based friend networks that would encourage broader, better vetted, political views

What do you think of this finding? Do you seek out friends based on their political views or have your friends shaped your political outlook? Or is it impossible to untangle?