A Reason for Optimism
It is easy to think the world is “going to hell in a handbasket.” Simply watch the news: wars ... famine ... drugs ... environmental disasters ... the inability of people to agree on much of anything. At times, I find myself slipping down the slippery slope toward negativity, but I have a remedy ... something that reaffirms my belief that humans have a future on this planet.
I am the youth coordinator for the Maryland Ornithological Society. (That’s “birds” for those allergic to six-syllable words.) Since I couldn’t tell a cardinal from a blue jay as a child, that’s a remarkable transformation over the course of my life. From that role, people assume that I am a world-class birder. Since I have eight-year-old students who are better at bird identification than I am, “world-class” could not be further from reality. I’m 76 years old, hard of hearing, and with declining eyesight and memory. (Is this the best the Maryland Ornithological Society could do for a leader?)
The truth is that I don’t do this for the birds. Yes, there is nothing like hearing that Clapper Rail sound off at four in the morning, watching the first wave of the fall Canada Goose migration, or seeing that first Indigo Bunting in the spring, glistening in the early morning sun. But I am a teacher; that’s in my blood. I enjoy the kids as much as the birds. However, the real reason I go out with these young birders is that I see the hope I so desperately crave.
How often do we hear an adult sound off about the demise of youth today? “The kids today ...” usually begins a tirade about their irresponsibility, narcissism, or misplaced values. The ancient Greeks complained about their youth, and so has probably every generation since then. (Of course, since the older generations reared the younger generation, wouldn’t this, in fact, be an indictment of adults?) This is our Nostalgia Bias, our tendency to positively color our own past, hard at work. I don’t have to be biased here. I know these students are head and shoulders above the pathetic life form I was at that age.
While the news does try to insert a positive youth story periodically, we tend to remember the ever-present, unpleasant, and often sensational news we are fed. While we certainly are failing some students today, our educational system is better than it was years ago. And they are children ... we tend to forget that. My parents always told me what a wonderful child I was. They lied.
So what does the research say, since critical thinking involves working with facts rather than opinions? Opinions are cheap; facts are golden nuggets. In a 2025 Common Sense Media Survey of 1,300 parents across the country, 61% believed that children today had lesser morals and values than past generations, with most saying youth today are less independent. The results don’t surprise me, but the survey quantifies opinions rather than addresses facts.
A 2011 study by Sara Konrath at Indiana University found a decline in empathy among college students from 1979 to 2009. (Konrath, 2011) Fortunately, her research did not stop there. Upon returning to the study in 2024, Konrath observed a noticeable increase in empathy from 2008 to today. (Konrath, 2024)
John Protzko, now at Central Connecticut State University, analyzed the results of over 30 studies on children's patience (delay gratification) and found a significant increase in it. However, he found bias in adults' beliefs. Authoritarian adults tended to believe children were less respectful, intelligent adults believed children to be less intelligent, and well-read adults thought children read less. Once again, adult opinions don’t match with research-based data. (Protzko) All of this illustrates what keeps many in the Fact-free Zone. We tend to base conclusions on limited observations or select anecdotes and facts that confirm our opinions.
There is no question that the world is facing monumental problems, exacerbated by an increasing population. However, the upcoming generation is better educated than previous ones. Yes, we are failing some of our children educationally, and some are clearly spoiled. However, the best of them are motivated, caring, and certainly better adapted to the digital and soon-to-be AI world we live in. They bring less bias and open minds to the table. We can’t judge them by 20th-century standards. They are the future and will be judged by standards not yet set.
One of the frustrations of a limited life is not knowing what the future will bring. I want to be here when we have that city on Mars, when we discover life on another world, and when humans put aside their nationalist mentality and embrace each other as fellow crewmembers on Spaceship Earth. I suspect there will be major stumbles along the way; often, we have to learn the hard way. However, the best of us, our children, will see us through.
To those in the older generations, turn off the news, get out of your house, and interact with children. They are our future. They need your wisdom, and you need their boundless energy and unbiased vision to stay properly focused. We are all blessed with the gift of life, the result of a random meeting of a sperm and an egg years earlier. Whether from religious beliefs or a desire to be the best we can be, we have a responsibility, one embedded in the collective DNA we have from many previous generations. To become mired in negativity disrespects those who preceded us and will ensure an eternity in the Fact-free Zone. Our children are our ticket out of the Zone.
Note: This is an essay from the upcoming book, Escaping the Fact-Free Zone: Using Critical Thinking to Survive the 21st Century
Sources:
Konrath SH, O'Brien EH, Hsing C. Changes in dispositional empathy in American college students over time: a meta-analysis. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2011 May;15(2):180-98. doi: 10.1177/1088868310377395. Epub 2010 Aug 5. PMID: 20688954.
Konrath, S., Martingano, A. J., Davis, M., & Breithaupt, F. (2023). “Empathy Trends in American Youth Between 1979 and 2018: An Update.” Social Psychological and Personality Science, 19485506231218360.
Moyer, Melinda Wenner. “The Kids are All Right.” Scientific American, April 2026, Vol. 334, No. 4, pp. 36 – 41.
Protzko J, Schooler JW. “Kids these days: Why the youth of today seem lacking.” Sci Adv. 2019 Oct 16; 5(10): eaav5916. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aav5916. PMID: 31663012; PMCID: PMC6795513.