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I thought a little food for thought might be in order on this election day. In October the Washington Post ran a story about homophily—the idea that people are drawn to others like themselves. In other words, among other areas, people are drawn to others with the same political views. Not a unique idea, but a recent study by Duke sociologists suggests that homophily is on the rise in the US. Indeed the study found that the Internet and other forms of technology facilitate homophily by allowing people to interact with like-minded people across geographic boundaries. The study also found that the proliferation of multiple news stations also facilitates homophily because it enables people to pick their news in a biased fashion.

Interestingly, the study found that subtle factors increase homophily as well. No surprise—people with shared experiences and characteristics tend to have shared viewpoints. But, outside of the Internet, how do these people find each other in their everyday life? According to the study, organizations, schools and workplaces—instead creating diverse settings—actually play a role in creating homogenous groups. This is because those institutions attract people with similar characteristics. That is, the person you meet at your child’s day care center probably has a similar demographic background and experience that you do. Indeed, the cost and location of the day care serve as a filter in this respect. Then too, the person who puts his child in day care tends to share your philosophy about work and child-care issues. The same notion applies with respect to your work and other organizations.

While finding like-minded people may be comforting, the study suggests that this phenomenon has negative consequences. First, it means that more people tend to find the views of others inexplicable. Second, and related, many people do not have cause to examine their own views—that is, there is no need for them to challenge or question their own views because everyone they know shares them. The result is that the nation is more polarized and it is very hard to find common ground. This is why the election results may appear inexplicable to some. To the extent the victor is not someone for whom you voted, chances are “no one you know voted for her” either.

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I thought a little food for thought might be in order on this election day. In October the Washington Post ran a story about homophily—the idea that people are drawn to others like themselves. In other words, among other areas, people are drawn to others with the same political views. Not a unique idea, but a recent study by Duke sociologists suggests that homophily is on the rise in the US. Indeed the study found that the Internet and other forms of technology facilitate homophily by allowing people to interact with like-minded people across geographic boundaries. The study also found that the proliferation of multiple news stations also facilitates homophily because it enables people to pick their news in a biased fashion.

Interestingly, the study found that subtle factors increase homophily as well. No surprise—people with shared experiences and characteristics tend to have shared viewpoints. But, outside of the Internet, how do these people find each other in their everyday life? According to the study, organizations, schools and workplaces—instead creating diverse settings—actually play a role in creating homogenous groups. This is because those institutions attract people with similar characteristics. That is, the person you meet at your child’s day care center probably has a similar demographic background and experience that you do. Indeed, the cost and location of the day care serve as a filter in this respect. Then too, the person who puts his child in day care tends to share your philosophy about work and child-care issues. The same notion applies with respect to your work and other organizations.

While finding like-minded people may be comforting, the study suggests that this phenomenon has negative consequences. First, it means that more people tend to find the views of others inexplicable. Second, and related, many people do not have cause to examine their own views—that is, there is no need for them to challenge or question their own views because everyone they know shares them. The result is that the nation is more polarized and it is very hard to find common ground. This is why the election results may appear inexplicable to some. To the extent the victor is not someone for whom you voted, chances are “no one you know voted for her” either.

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