Years later, Team Edward vs Team Jacob remains the most divisive issue of our time

Publish date: 2024-08-14

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was 2008 and the country was divided over one simple, yet inflammatory question: Are you Team Edward or are you Team Jacob?

For the uninitiated, the question, of course, refers to the love interests in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, first published in 2005.

In the book and movie franchise of the same name, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), a 17-year-old high school student, was regularly forced to confront a difficult romantic choice: the immortal, sparkling vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) who was thirsty for her blood or Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a shapeshifter taking the form of a werewolf and family friend.

Talk about a tough decision. Still, the series' fans were quick and eager to sound off on who they thought Bella should end up with. If you had even so much as heard of "Twilight," you likely held a strong opinion on Team Edward or Team Jacob.

Well, as it turns out, those loyalties haven't gone anywhere.

Recently, as a part of the Great American Personality Test , INSIDER teamed up with Morning Consult to see what people had to say about the age-old question. Out of 8,805 respondents across the US, 22% of people said they are Team Edward and 18% said they are Team Jacob. Of the respondents, 60% of those polled said they didn't know or had no opinion.

It's no surprise that some respondents weren't sure what to choose: 30% of those polled were Gen Z or Millennials (ages 18-21 or 22-37, respectively). Whereas Gen X and Boomers (ages 38-53 and 54-72, respectively) accounted for 64% of respondents. The majority audience for "Twilight," it's safe to say, skews younger, as the books were released in 2005-2008 and were marketed as young adult novels.

But it's also not shocking that the margin between respondents who had an opinion was a slim 4%.

The debate may remain as contentious as ever, but one thing is certain: After all this time, Team Edward remains the right choice. Survey says. And so do the books, for that matter.

SyncBlog

Years later, Team Edward vs Team Jacob remains the most divisive issue of our time