Today's College Kids Less Empathetic

Lynn V., a grandmother of 5, recently commented to a friend that her grandchildren seem to be intrinsically self absorbed; she cites rude behavior, such as texting while she’s trying to talk to them.

According to a recent study, Lynn may be spot on with that observation.   Sara Konrath, a researcher at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, gathered a team who studied standardized personality tests of college students from 1979-2009.  Their conclusion?  Young adults today are 40% less empathetic than they used to be.

She and her team studied 72 such tests which revealed a disturbing find:  compared with the 1970s, college students today are not as likely to foster empathy toward the least fortunate, nor do they try as hard to understand “the other guy’s” perspective within their interpersonal relationships.

In her report, Konrath goes on to say that today’s college students are more “. . .self-centered, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic in recent history." (Healthy Day)

One reason for this could be the blasé’ attitude toward violence kids today have.  Konrath asserts that they have become somewhat desensitized because they are so used to seeing violence in the media.

She also stated that social networking could be a factor.  Because kids can technologically communicate with other, they haven’t learned face-to-face people skills. 

The goal for parents of small children needs to be a proactive approach when it comes to instilling empathy in their children.  According to Childcare Connections, a newsletter published by the University of California, the way that small children learn empathy is through receiving it from their caregivers. 

The newsletter goes on to state that one of the best ways to do this is to demonstrate a focus on the feelings of others, even with those who the child may have a conflict with.  Parents can do this by making statements such as “How do you feel about the argument you had with Tammy?” and then, “How do you think Tammy feels?”

Empathy must be nurtured, the experts say.  The disturbing question in all of this is how is the “Me Generation” going to instill such an important social skill in their children if they haven’t learned it themselves?”