The Ripple Effect Of Kindness In Our Lives

Some people are born kind. I don’t know how they do it. It just pours off of them like Water. When you hang out with somebody that is a naturally kind person, some of that kindness rubs off on you, kind of like a contact high. 

There are studies that show that kindness begets kindness. 

According to news.gallup.com,
‘Slightly more Americans, 65%, say they have personally experienced an act of kindness from someone in their community “many” (17%) or “a few” (48%) times in the past seven days. Another 16% say this has happened once in the past week, while 18% say this has not happened to them recently.’ 

Who is kinder?

One of the interesting conclusions from this study (At least to me) is that older demographics find it easier to show kindness than younger demographics.  

54% of Americans ages 18 to 24 claim that they often see expressions of kindness to others. Compare that to 68% of Americans 65 and older. 

This “kindness gap” also exists with Americans that have a high school education or less. 53% of Americans as opposed to 68% of Americans with a college Degree. 

Income also seems to be a factor in how many acts of kindness one might see. Only 50% of Americans with a household income of $48,000 or less annually see expressions of kindness to others. Compare that to 68% of Americans that have an income of $90,000 or more. 

Are towns kinder?

When comparing cities to small towns, there’s a very interesting turn in statistics. 56% of city dwellers say that they often see expressions of kindness. 63% of People who live in small towns or in rural areas claim that they often see people treating other people with kindness. 

Sometimes being kind to someone else can push you out of your comfort zone and that’s an area where younger demographics have issues. According to the survey, only 35% of young adults 18 to 29 feel comfortable initiating a kind act towards a stranger.  

The survey indicates that as one gets older, one becomes more comfortable, and by the time you hit age 65, 64% of those surveyed said that they were very comfortable initiating kind acts toward a stranger. 

One final thought.  

People who experience kind acts feel more comfortable initiating kind acts, and that rings true among all age groups. The more kind acts that you experience, the more inclined you are to initiate kind acts to others. 

So, catch a little kindness. It can’t hurt.