This time, however, things felt different. Despite Kamala Harris’ past failed presidential campaign, I quickly got over my doubts as to whether she had what it takes to keep Trump out of office. Witnessing her match Trump in the polls and her popularity increasing among the public, the dread I was feeling for America’s future slowly started to fade, replaced by a newfound optimism. Were the American people finally ready for a woman, let alone a woman of color to be in charge?

From everything I was hearing from my personal and professional networks and seeing on my social media, the answer was yes. No one I personally knew was supporting Trump or boycotting Harris in favor of a third-party candidate. I could not fathom how anyone aware of the evils Trump is capable of or the foolishness he displays would want to give him any chance of winning. I was impressed with Harris and her team’s ability to put together a campaign at such short notice, appealing to young voters through memes and social media, while also offering solid policy plans for issues deemed relevant by the American public. But most importantly, she is a highly qualified former criminal prosecutor, attorney general and senator while he is a convicted felon and rapist, guilty on 34 felony charges. How could it even be close?

What really happened is that roughly 77 million Americans wanted Trump to win. One may argue that most of his voters were uninformed or that the Democrats did not put enough effort into appealing to the working-class. But the reality is that his voter base is not homogenous. After more than eight years of Trump being in the spotlight, many voters knew exactly what kind of man they were voting for. Many may even agree with his xenophobic immigration policies, his racism or his misogynistic attitudes. To attribute their voting behavior to ignorance is not giving his supporters enough credit. One can only imagine the bubbles they inhabit.

Polarization in the US, but also globally has never been higher. We may just be predisposed to holding different opinions. But we are also all clearly getting different information depending on the people we surround ourselves with, the professions we hold, the places we live and the social media on which we are active. Even the news we watch can affect our voting behavior and political opinions.

Given the nature of the election results, I found myself unable to stick to my original idea on the hopefulness of voting in this election cycle for this blogpost. I was however able to reflect on the importance of the bubbles I am in, but also in which other people are. How these bubbles can continue to polarize our societies and blind us to what is happening right in front of us. Being aware of them is one thing but the real question is, how do we pop these bubbles?

Some argue we should more actively seek out news from a variety of sources and engage with differing viewpoints. Further recommendations include fact-checking sources and practicing news literacy. Others believe we need to more readily engage our critical thinking skills and adjust our social media settings to reduce our reliance on algorithms. While playing a key role in creating these bubbles in the first place, the tech industry is now even offering solutions to the problem via apps and plugins, which may help us detect bias in the information we receive online. All these fixes, however, share one crucial element: the willingness to step outside our bubble. If we want to become better at understanding what is happening in the world and avoid being blindsided again in the next election, we truly have no choice.