Is Technology Like Smart Phones Destroying Empathy Toward Other People?

Empathy refers to the ability of an individual to share the feelings of another individual in any particular situation. The trait is the most important behavior that humans can show to other fellow humans, and that is why it is most admired by most people. There are cases where animals such as rodents portray such trait although humans are the ones who show the trait in most cases. Empathy is the trait that makes us survive in the world since it assists us to cooperate, communicate and learn with each other and as such, the world becomes a good place to live. However, technology has brought so much exposure to new thoughts and information that has gradually destroyed empathy among people. People are exposed to print media and internet where they access ideological information that has radical behavior in people (Wachowicz 274). The paper will start by outlining the argument by critically analyzing the supporting evidence in the paper. The supporting evidence will be important positions in the paper will be laid out and supported. These important positions will be supported by the opposing evidence that will be discussed later. Then, the paper will conclude by outlining ideas focusing on taking actions as well as directions for research to be conducted in future.

Supporting Evidence

There are various ideological information stations, for instance, print media, broadcasts, social media and website where liberals and conservatives read, watch or listen to their thoughts of what the ideal world should be in any given circumstances. The result of such media outlets has been catastrophic since the individuals have begun to have exclusionary and radical ideas that may destroy the co-existence of individuals in the community. There are cases where such notions have gone to the extent that the individuals are acting racists by showing empathy to only individuals of their race and not others. Thus, these media sites have moved people to act in extremists of behaviors since they cannot show empathy to other people even if they live together in the same neighborhood. Therefore, these media outlets have differentiated groups in categories that may focus on political affiliations, gender or race which have gradually destroyed empathy between humans (Nishida 284).

Technology, for instance, smartphones have made information either good or bad, to be available in plenty. This information is in most cases so emotionally draining type of information which has made the brain not to be able to handle them at a go. Information and news are available online 24/7, and thus, the brain has been forced to absorb them throughout the period. Thus, the brain will, in the end, be emotionally exhausted since the information brought have varying emotional and thus, the response of the brain at that moment will be the loss of compassion due to the ever-changing information needs. There are scenarios where people cannot understand sympathies at the loss of humanity when tragedy occurs because they have been used to receive such information in various cases. Studies have been conducted that examine how the choice of suppressing or experiencing empathetic emotion can change the empathetic feelings of an individual. Various conclusions have been made in the study, but the most prominent one is that the if humans are aware of the diminishment of empathy, then one can recover it.

Technology applied by military forces such as the use of video game technology has been widely known to suppress empathy in individuals. The aim of such video games technology is to produce a new type of soldier who can undertake any mission without fear or favor. Studies by Earmon and Houghton have examined how the U.S. military has created an entertainment complex which is aimed at admitting soldiers where gamers are recruited through video game sites that are available there (Fripp 788). The video game players are supposed to join air force since the games displayed simulating them to be part of the air force team all over the world. However, studies have indicated this mode of recruitment has had its psychological issues that were not anticipated to have. For instance, those operating the drones have had PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). The reason for such issues has arisen because the operators have the stress of killing people in the remote areas and destroying property worth millions of dollars while at the same time they have to coach their kids to be good people in future. Therefore, such has resulted in the destruction of empathy since they cannot mean what they are saying.

Counter Argument

However, different communication gadgets have created empathy in people as much as they have caused problems for humanity. Social media has been the top of the platforms where people have learned to create empathy. From as far as the first ages, humans have learned how to feel the suffering of other humans by assisting each other in whatever way possible. People have also learned how to evaluate changes in other people by supporting how best that one should change to be a better person. Today, social media has created a platform where people can initiate political changes that have proved to offer much assistance to individuals in various places in the country. Such movements have been the LGBT rights movements and women movements which have drawn empathy from people who have since criticized the government as to why they are not giving into the demands of the wish of the people of the country. Additionally, there are an incredible emotionally messages of support and assistance on social media when tragedies such as the London bomb and the tragic murders in Charleston which has revealed that humans. Therefore, social media has brought empathy to people who are a beneficial thing to humanity.

Technology has brought the emergence of apps that have created a bond between people instead of destroying. One such case is the creation of Verona, an app by Matthew Nolan, which is aimed at pairing the Palestinians and the Israelis. The app has received global acclaim since it strives to unite the Israelites and the Palestinian who have been fighting since the 1960s. The dating app focuses on uniting people as according to their similarities as concerns the political social and religious affiliations by emphasizing the common empathy traits that can lead to the romance between two people. There have also emerged apps that teach children how to exercise empathy under different circumstances. Their apps have grown in popularity since it has an easy approach to educating children on the importance of empathy and why it should be encouraged between people.

The emergence of virtual reality has been critical in immersing empathy between people. The reason is that virtual reality has no platform where one can edit or contain an image in any given scenario. In reality, an individual is where he/she experiences, where the eyes look and where the opponent could be experiencing. In essence, virtual reality connects two humans in the best way possible, and it can alter someones perception of the surrounding depending on the situation. Therefore, many have acclaimed that virtual reality can change the world and it is true by the way the vision and the framework of approach have been outlined.

Conclusion

Technology has indeed brought new ideas on people, and thus individuals have been losing compassion as technology keeps advancing. The reason has been attributed to the internet and radical prints that have different messages which have eventually changed the behavior of people and how empathetic can be given any situation. Technology has altered the psychology and reasoning of the brain which has then changed how people react to situations. However, technology acts as a tool where people can utilize it depending on the situation, and as such, it can be destructive or constructive which can lead to the creation or destruction of empathy in different scenarios (Seib 54). Therefore, individuals should choose to create understanding in such circumstances by actively taking part in storytelling and changing the notion of who is in the group and who is not. Additionally one should avoid being polarized ideologically and start to face the consequence of the changing times.

Work Cited

Fripp, Will. "@ War: The Rise of the military-internet Complex." (2016): 783-785.

Nishida, Toyoaki. "Toward mutual dependency between empathy and technology." AI & society 28.3 (2013): 277-287.

Seib, Philip. "Technology and Empathy." Beyond the Front Lines. Palgrave Macmillan US, 2004. 43-67.

Wachowicz, Barbara, et al. "Empathy and modern technology: A neuroergonomics perspective." Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries 26.2 (2016): 266-284.