Effect of Technology on Empathy (Research Paper Sample)

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON EMPATHY
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Impact of Technology on Empathy
Empathy creates an understanding of the people we live with, develop relationships, and demonstrate compassion in times of tragedy and calamity. It is fundamental to the establishment of a society and efforts to collectively foster survival. The information age has greatly led to the weakening of our ability to empathize. Empathy is the human response to the foreseen or perceived feelings and emotions of others. In the present day culture where focus has been so much more on the self over the society, empathy has come out as a weakness. Research has however found that empathy is essential to the maintenance and improvement of the human society. It is important to examine the extent to which communication technology has affected our ability to empathize with others and the possible reasons for this trend.
Through empathy, people can develop and sustain helpful relationships. In institutions of learning, empathy allows socialization among students, development of friendships, creates an understanding of the social paradigm, and relate cohesively in peer groups. Through empathy in working environment, it becomes possible to engage in teamwork, negotiations, collaboration and expertise necessary for the job. The advent and growth of communication technology has made it necessary to rethink its effect on empathy for the working environment. The growth of empathy reduces the chances of people degenerating to behavior that is undesirable and hence makes the society safer and makes it possible to demonstrate compassion (Elliott et al 2011)
Empathy can be used as the medium through which people express compassion, understand the pain and joy of others or even as a tool to deceive and manipulate others. Empathy comes in different forms, all of which are important human traits. It is however possible to be better in one kind of empathy but lack in others. Smith, a theorist placed a distinction between cognitive empathy and emotional empathy in the year 1759. Since then subsequent researches has placed similar distinction examining the two types of empathy as two different functions. The categories differentiated the unplanned, unemotional reactions like the pain of seeing a stranger wound themselves, from the emotional reaction like crying at the loss of a loved one.
The research hypothesis by Konrath, Hsing’s and O’Brian suggests that increase in self-centeredness has contributed to the diminished willingness and incapacity to empathize. Study indicates that narcissism and empathy are adversaries. Increased personality disorder has led to the decline in the empathetic abilities in both adults and children over the past 30 years. Of the people tested, less than 25% thought of themselves as empathetic today as they were thirty years ago. Over the past decade there has been a steady decline as indicated in Konrath’s graph below. Most of the people born between 1977 and 1994 indicated that they place great importance in service to the community but they would rather play games, watch television or engage in fun activities. Parents have a great role in molding children to be empathetic in their future lives.
Konrath’s graph
Konrath, in his study, also proposes that with more Americans Living a lonely life than the previous decades there has been more focus on self. This has been propagated by the technological shift to social media, self-focus and isolation. This has diminished the current generations’ potential to empathize. The video by Cohen which is based on the book ‘Alone Together’ by Sherry Turkle (Turkle 2012) and the article ‘The Invention of Being Lonely’ by Dr. Yair Amichai agrees with the hypothesis of Konrath. Cohen asserts that social media has contributed to self-admiration but even more led to the complex problem of self-obsession and isolation. Social media has the effect of compiled pressure on the user to revise and rectify self-image to perfection. This robs people the ability to foster real, unrehearsed relationships.
Communication through social media involves faceless conversations like pictures, posts and text messages. These medium has made the youth of today diminished in terms of their ability to engage in real time dialogue and ability to understand facial expression, body language and the way of thinking of other people. The inability to champion physical relationship makes the youths even more isolated. Social media has increasingly become a tool that encourages the behavior of isolation with many forms of attention seeking attributes that are temporary in nature, and shallow in content. Technology has therefore perpetuated isolation and obsession to self hence an increase trend towards a cycle of self-perpetuation.
The inability by the subjects of communication technology to take in other peoples perspective coupled by the limited scope of technology and social media, restrains the communication scope. The problem is wide spread. The anonymity of the youth on social media like twitter and Facebook has promoted impunity and reckless words leaves the social media users unsure of the impact of their words on others. Many, when asked, think that their perversive behavior is funny or just a joke or never gave enough thought to the impact their words may have on the subjects. This form of communication has incredibly affected user’s ability to empathize therefore blinding them from realizing that their words have a far reaching effect on other people.
The concern scale below examines the respondents’ level of empathy. Empathetic concern studies the level of concern or compassion expressed for the physical person perceived. The test explores the participants ability to identify with specified statements like ‘when a good friend is treated badly, I at times don’t really pity them’ and "when a friend informs me of their successes, I am genuinely impressed." Konrath’s study indicates that self-absorption and isolation has indeed taken charge over empathy (Konrath’s graph 2 below). Technology has however had its fair share of role in the diminishing of empathic concern (Konrath, O’Brien & Hsing 2011)
The internet has far reaching effects on the empathic concern. The fact is that the youth of today can broadcast their words to a large audience without considering the facial expression, body language or reaction of the target. This can be likened to the combat pilots who kill hundreds of people. Research indicates that the distance of the pilot from the culprit facilitates diminished empathic concern to a level where they cannot see, understand or even care about the extent of the damage caused by their action. The media has similar effects when violence and aggression is celebrated without particular attention to the pain inflicted on others. A good example is the game "Grand Theft Franchise." In the game the players are rewarded for committing violent acts. The impersonation in such games makes humiliation, pain, anguish and murder a source of entertainment and satisfaction.
Technology is definitely not the sole perpetrator of empathy but in many ways, it seems to be at the heart of the entire situation decentralizing to narcissism, isolation and the deterioration of empathy. Konrath, in his research, submitted that technology has made Americans experience an overload of information, increased burden for speed and efficiency, and a persistent self-absorption problem driven by social media. The research also found out that among the students involved in the survey they would opt to play games, indulge in social media, and watch television, among other activities as opposed to engaging in compassionate, charitable or selfless initiatives.
Heirman cyberbullying research shows that people’s ability to communicate without revealing identity, without interpersonal connection, and maintaining distance from victim has condoned destruction of empathy. From Cohen’s video, there is a clear illusion in the minds of social media users indicating the presence of many friends, widespread attention, and freedom from a lonely life. The effect created by this illusion robs the youth a chance to seek alternative solutions to problems facing them owing to the obsession they have with technology (Cohan 2013)
The social media and the internet has provided an obsession to entertainment, an alternative but falsified replacement for companionship and a twisted feeling of socialization. Is the solution desisting from technology? definitely not. Anonymity on social media has some pertinent advantages. A good example is the ability of a person suffering from anxiety issues to freely make friends on social media, express themselves, and socialize without having to go through rejection or any form of humiliation. Distant from violence and bullying, social media and the internet helps in reaching large audiences, organize and broadcast information. Prohibiting technology would otherwise mean that students are not...