That’s a really interesting point, Clare, and thanks for your comment. I wonder if technology, and the speed at which it enables us to operate, to publicly make decisions, criticise, judge others, etc., is generally at odds with empathy as an emotion. Are there other emotional reactions that technology might affect, either positively or negatively?
Jon Ronson wrote an excellent book on how social media has changed our experience of shame and our shaming of others, and I’ve heard a lot recently about virtue signalling and similar ideas. Hmmm… lots to think about!
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I usually get my news sources from Twitter nowadays. A small snippet of information that can allow me to access the more complete article if I choose. The downside to this is if I don’t have time to read the full article I am left with an initial impression of an event, or person, that may be quite negative depending upon how the one-line intro is presented. So I would agree the speed in how we receive and process information can be greatly affected.
And yes, I do believe this lightning-fast speed of reading and responding can lead to the appearance of a lack of empathy. The traditional perception is the more time you spend on something or someone, the more it, or they , mean to you personally. At least, the more it seems you have yourself invested in the situation.
Perhaps with all the technology we have now, we should redefine what “empathy” means, or should mean, based upon our changing paradigms of the world and how we fit into it, or even want to transform it. In one of my earlier blogs I addressed, albeit briefly, how technology may transform our classrooms and how we learn. Perhaps I should expand my view and restructure how I might transform my world beyond the classroom.