Since the emergence of the PTI as the PML-N’s chief rival in Punjab, some observers have periodically voiced concerns about rampant polarisation in the electorate.

What’s cited as proof is the deeply partisan identities adopted by supporters both offline and on social media, which render any conversation skirting the issue of politics into an often tedious zero-sum exchange.

In recent months, as we inch closer to the election, these exchanges have escalated in both quantity and their degree of hostility, leaving large social gatherings (on or offline) completely unbearable.

In an ideological vacuum, the non-cosmetic difference between the PTI and the PML-N is always going to be marginal.

A part, if not all, of this partisanship can be traced to the fact that politics is also the dominant form of cultural consumption on our airwaves. Because we don’t have the Pakistan Super League for more than two months a year, and because there’s no other sphere of cultural activity large enough to garner more of our attention, we’re perhaps left only with political arguments as a way to satiate partisan cravings or identity crises.

Read the rest of Umair Javed's op-ed in today's Dawn here.