Friendship in divided times: People don't want to argue with you as much as you think

As the US election approaches, few would disagree that political and social issues are becoming increasingly polarised. Finding common ground on issues such as the environment, foreign policy and gun control appears to be difficult, according to some research. But what is this doing to people's friendships?

According to the prevailing narrative, the severe differences in worldview are causing our social networks to fracture, resulting in many broken friendships. But is this objectively true? And if so, what psychological factors are most likely to predict the changes to our social networks?