I think a lot of the polarization got worse bc of the constant partisan news cycle. Now people could watch news shows 24/7 where one party bashes the other. I think it was also made worse by the pandemic with many home full time with the news on a loop. There was a lot of fear which made people fear those that were like them. Our brain also tries to make sense of things when we are scared, so if a newscaster we believe we can trust tells us that the other side is at fault we tend to want to believe them.
I think a lot of the polarization got worse bc of the constant partisan news cycle. Now people could watch news shows 24/7 where one party bashes the other. I think it was also made worse by the pandemic with many home full time with the news on a loop. There was a lot of fear which made people fear those that were like them. Our brain also tries to make sense of things when we are scared, so if a newscaster we believe we can trust tells us that the other side is at fault we tend to want to believe them.