It was only two decades ago when the Internet was still largely unheard of. If you wanted to know pretty much anything about everything you had to turn on your television, radio or wait for print news. The amount of information and data proliferated throughout the world today because of modern methods of communication have created a new age of information sharing and connectivity. Today's youth and young adults thrive on being connected, on having access to social media and the onslaught of news, information and opinion.

To have an endless source of information and connectivity in a handheld digital device is a concept not many people would be able to comprehend thirty years ago. This changing dynamic provides a unique opportunity for each current existing generation to grow and develop but this also showcases the deterioration of one of the most fundamental aspects of human development: empathy.

With this hyper-connectivity and a constant flow of information and advertising being force fed to anyone connected to the "grid," our ability to empathize has been severely damaged. Ironically, this connectivity is supposed to mean a greater societal understanding of global issues and a relative awareness of the suffering of others, however, the grim reality that has been painted is one of fear and hatred.

The recent attacks in Orlando, Istanbul, Bangladesh and Baghdad show the terrible violence of extremist terrorism that has grasped the international community. But instead of sentiments of empathy and compassion, Western society has chosen to respond with fear. The continuous violence throughout the world has painted a dark picture that has made us believe that violence, like these attacks, cannot be prevented. That attacks like these are bound to happen.

It is indeed a scary world that we live in when we go outside fearing the world around us. It has become an expectation that violence will happen when it wants to happen and that we as a society and as a global community can do nothing but watch.

The Western response has culminated with the increasing support of Trump for his fear mongering tactics. As more and more of these attacks happen, the support for him will only to continue to increase. It has created a sense of desperation and fears that violence must be answered with violence and prejudice. Western society has responded by wanting to turn away refugees and wanting to isolate ourselves in fear of what lies outside of our borders. Hyper-connectivity is not to blame but as these attacks continue to happen, it will only make us more desensitized to the violence and suffering that goes on—even within our own communities.

Mass shootings, like terrorist attacks, have become too common. And while there are many who advocated for change in the United States, these voices seem to go unnoticed in our politics and in our society. We have accepted that mass shootings happen as a monthly, if not weekly occurrence. There is no silent majority or vocal minority because, in this case, all voices seem to go unheard. The literal cries for help have gone all but unnoticed.

We claim to be a society or progressives and change yet the only change that has become increasingly clear is the need for greater empathy. Media overexposure has created a society that has become complacent with stagnancy.

Our society's ability to empathize is severely deteriorating in a world that needs compassion more and more.