Sometimes it can seem like we are always hearing doom and gloom when it comes to our youth, especially teenagers.
I want to turn that around with this great survey that Stage of Life (that offers writing contests for high school students) conducted with a group of teenagers, regarding Random Acts of Kindness.
We often thinking of teens as very self-absorbed, into their gadgets, social media, LIKEs, and especially their friends.
Stage of Life revealed teens expressed empathy and cared about others!
- 96.5% of teens have performed a random act of kindness. Of those that have personally performed a random act of kindness, 63% were inspired to do so because of the StageofLife.com international writing contest prompt.
- 88% of teens have been on the receiving end of a random act of kindness. Of those students who have experienced a random act of kindness performed on them, 85% wanted to pass along the kindness to someone else.
This is the part I really loved, it’s not a phase:
- 56% teenagers (of those who have performed a random act of kindness) have done so more than 7 times.
As I mentioned earlier, Stage of Life had a writing contest for these students. After taking the survey, students submitted their essays and this was the trend and story themes that emerged:
- Kindness Doesn’t Have to be Big: Many teens learned that kindness, especially a random act, doesn’t have to be a grand gesture to be significant. Being kind is as simple as sharing a smile with a sad stranger or giving a dollar to a homeless person.
- Kindness Can Save Lives: Of course, big acts of kindness can literally save a life. Some teens wrote about times strangers helped them when they or their parents were hurt. Sometimes, a stranger’s kindness snapped these teens out of an awful depression and gave them a better direction in life.
- Volunteering is Rewarding: While all people love being on the receiving end of an act of kindness, many teens discovered how great being kind to others felt. These teens found a new sense of self while helping homeless people in the city or serving food in a church.
- Random Acts Should be Regular: Kindness makes everyone feel better, so why limit random acts of kindness to prompted challenges? Try being kind all the time! It won’t hurt anyone.
Read the entire survey and the finalists on Stage of Life.
