USAToday Article: College students have less empathy than past generations

The research finds that college students today show 40% less empathy vs. students in the 1980s and 1990s. The students are less likely to agree with statements such as “I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me” and “I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective.”

The study did not evaluate why students are less empathetic, but Konrath says one reason may be that people are having fewer face-to-face interactions, communicating instead through social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Empathy is best activated when you can see another person’s signal for help,” Konrath says.

This study seems to go against what research has said for years about the Millennial generation in terms of their volunteer hours and conventional make-up. So, I am just included to toss this issue up to correlation, not causation…