Americans seem to have lost the ability to talk to one another—to have civil, meaningful conversations that both deepen understanding and allow us to craft solutions to common problems.

A generation ago schools, churches and civic organizations provided opportunities for many citizens to practice the art of effective civil discourse. Ideally, these institutions taught young people to employ reason, empathy, persuasion and compromise to reach mutually acceptable conclusions. However, in our rapidly changing society these institutions have proven unable to provide many young people with the necessary opportunities to practice these skills.

On one hand, the internet has allowed legions of formerly marginalized or isolated individuals to enter into the public conversation, but on the other hand, it has led to the proliferation of countless micro-communities that have little exposure to values or world views that differ substantially from their own.

In order to answer these questions, we engaged a diverse group of cross-sector experts to discuss what we know about how technology is shaping the way young people learn pro-social behaviors like civil conversation, cooperation, and negotiation, as well as to devise creative ways in which we might provide more young people with these fundamental skills.

Read the full article about civil discourse at The Aspen Institute.