An interesting question but ultimately flawed. You see, the question should not be 'are today's youth lacking compassion' but 'do young people lack compassion'. I believe that todays youth have just as much compassion as any other generation of young people - that is precisely zero.

Compassion is a complex emotion that comes from being aware of how you feel and of how other people fell, or even how they might feel. Unfortunately, this awareness is rarely found in youth. Youth is innocent, naive and ultimately narcissistic, at least as far as their 'center of the universe' syndrome gos. For some reason it is impossible to accurately remember ones own youth (to test this hypothesis, ask your mother what you were like as a teenager and compare it to your own recollections!). However, anyone who has ever lived with or even spoken to a teenager will be aware that nobody else's problems are as serious or as terrible as their own. With this in mind, it is impossible to feel compassion for others when your own problems are so consuming.

Ultimately, teenagers grow up and learn compassion, but to suggest that youth has ever been anything but self-obsessed and uncaring is a falacy brought on by denial of ones own youthful behaviour.

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