Everybody has a story. Whether people like to believe it or not, there are so many people within their world who all have their own unique story about themselves and how they’ve lived. Walking through the hallways, watching your classmates pass by, seems quite ordinary to most, but behind every student lies a story waiting to be told.
A study published in Psychiatry Investigation claims that teens and adolescents lack empathy compared to adults. Further, the study revealed that when faced with emotional tasks, teens’ brains work harder to process and regulate their emotions because of their lower cognitive empathetic abilities. So, when a teen or adolescent seems to be self-absorbed and ignoring the perspectives of others, is it a matter of limited brain development, or are they avoiding learning something difficult?
People are shaped by their experiences, and that leads them to the way they act today. The way they were brought up, or the things they were told were okay, generally affect how they end up acting towards others. Some people could have parents who were raised in different countries, so they know other languages, whereas other people could overcome the most cruel, difficult personal issues that they never disclose.
People make assumptions about others because these stories are hidden; nobody considers taking the time to listen to others and understand where they are coming from. “People always make assumptions about me being Irish because of my red hair, but if they were to ever hear me, they’d know that I’m actually Arabic [SIC].”
From the quiet students in your classroom who could’ve travelled across the world to see family, to the people who use humor to navigate through their own personal challenges, sometimes it’s difficult to realize that one person’s life isn’t the framework of another. Celebrities aren’t people to be idolized, since they are just regular people. No single person stands at the center of the world’s story.
The ability to recognize that everybody has their own story can build empathy; it helps people understand emotions, and, in turn, provides them with the strength to regulate when needed and to eventually teach others to do the same on their own. High school should be considered more than just grades, school, and sports. It represents people from different cultures from different places coming together with their different lives and experiences, despite all the dissimilarities they carry. Every individual’s perspective deserves to be heard. Every experience is a chance to build empathy.
To develop empathy, the study recommends opportunities for the following:
- Patience and understanding: Recognize that teens’ empathic abilities are still developing, and they may need more support in understanding and responding to others’ emotions.
- Encourage perspective-taking: Engage teens in activities that promote cognitive empathy, such as discussing characters’ motivations in books or movies.
- Foster emotional awareness: Help teens identify and express their own emotions, which can enhance their ability to understand others’ feelings.
- Promote cross-cultural experiences: Expose teenagers to diverse cultures and perspectives to help broaden their empathic responses.
- Model empathy: Demonstrate empathic behavior in your own interactions, providing a positive example for teens to emulate.
