People already struggled to make and hang onto friends before the pandemic, but there are some out there determined to make the problem worse.
One-fifth of the population admitted in a recent survey that they intentionally cut off or stopped talking to friends due to disagreements about coronavirus-related issues. Of those who lost friends, 24% were Democrats, 15% were Republicans, and 18% were independents. Twenty-two percent were male, and 19% were female.
Interestingly, respondents were more likely to say they had lost a friendship because of differing opinions if they made more than $80,000 per year. But that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: Upper-class people have always been less social and less connected to their community than others because they’re less likely to depend on neighbors and family members for basic services, such as babysitting.
Choosing to cut ties with someone because he thinks differently about the coronavirus, however, is a problem that goes way beyond social isolation. Abandoning a friendship is a deliberate choice, one that reflects a deep intolerance for others who believe differently and an insecurity that the person’s beliefs might challenge your own.
Holing ourselves up in ideological bubbles isn’t healthy; it’s sad. Take, for example, actress Jennifer Aniston, who revealed last week that she severed multiple friendships with people who weren’t vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion — but a lot of opinions don’t feel based in anything except fear or propaganda,” she said. “I’ve just lost a few people in my weekly routine who have refused or did not disclose [whether or not they had been vaccinated], and it was unfortunate.”
Here’s the thing: If you are willing to cut off a friend just because he or she thinks differently about political or health-related issues, you probably didn’t value that friend in the first place. And that says a lot more about Aniston and the other 25% who lost friends than it does about anyone else.
