Does the Internet Increase or Decrease Empathy | It’s A Question Of Balance 10 October 2015

Broadcast on 10 October 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.

'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world. 

Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

Hour 1: Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Does the Internet Increase or Decrease Empathy?  

This week we consider ‘Does the Internet Increase or Decrease Empathy?’ According to an article by Marianne Levine “Studies have shown that increased dependence on technology has resulted in the diminishing of empathy by limiting the amount of human interaction that takes place”. Research, led by Sara H. Konrath of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and published online in August in Personality and Social Psychology Review, found that college students’ self-reported empathy has declined since 1980, with an especially steep drop in the past 10 years. To make matters worse, during this same period students’ self-reported narcissism has reached new heights, according to research by Jean M. Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University. Have you observed a decrease in empathy in the people around you? People are perhaps more aware of tragedy and the poor conditions and suffering of others through the internet but does this awareness actually increase empathy when they have no personal contact with these people or is it about something else? One could argue that sharing common experiences through social media or gaming can increase understanding of each other and empathy if the quality of those interactions is high. So do you think it is the quality of our relationships on the internet that determines whether our empathy is increased or decreased?

What do you think? For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com