Empathy and Personal Relevance Drive Actions
Caring about someone or something outside ourselves requires empathy, the ability to put oneself in someone else’s place and feel what they are experiencing. Empathy provides situational awareness while deepening our understanding of another’s needs and challenges. Our research has long shown young Americans (ages 18-30) to be especially empathetic. Now, we’re finding that the experiences shared during the pandemic have made social issues much more personal.
When a cause can tap into empathy, it can create advocates: people who believe in an issue deeply enough to become a voice for action. Add personal relevance to this equation, and you have an atmosphere for motivating young people to join your cause and moving them to an advocate level (self organizing).
