From the invention of the telegraph to the rise in smartphones, technology has impacted many aspects of daily life; arguably, the most affected may be communication. It has never been easier to share a message, public or private, and the introduction of social media allows us access to virtually anyone’s online profile. Phones and computers aren’t the only technological forms of communication, though. Many gaming systems now include multiplayer modes, in which the player can interact with others and act as a teammate or a rival. While technology has acted as a medium for online communication, it has noticeably influenced the way people connect in real life. Some claim that the increased use of technology, particularly at a young age, can negatively
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This emotion is essential to the connection between humans as it allows them to understand each others’ misfortunes. Increased technology seems to be affecting this basic human feeling. Users feel more comfortable typing their thoughts than they would verbalizing them because their screen acts as a protective barrier, and the anonymity that comes with the internet permits a person to express any idea he or she can think of, no matter how careless it is. As described in Keith O’Brien’s “The Empathy Deficit”, a study that first began in 1979 shows that there is a fall in the amount of empathy in today’s youth, which many researchers believe to be the result of too much modern technology (464-468). Sara Konrath, the lead author of the study, claims that in the beginning of the study, the investigated levels of empathy in college students were “’looking sort of flat, or no real pattern, up until 2000. … And then there’s this sudden, sharp drop’” (O’Brien 467). Around the new millennium, video games, computers, and cell phones rose in popularity. Once this is taken into consideration, the correlation between increased technology and decreased levels of empathy is greatly supported. Professionals also see a relation between empathy and narcissism: “’Generally speaking,’ said Pincus [a professor of psychology at Penn State University], ‘there’s a lack of empathy as narcissism increases’” (O’Brien 466). This characteristic may also be linked to technology, as social media allows its users to portray themselves as highly as they like. As stated earlier, caring for others, whether they be friends, family, pets, or otherwise, is crucial when it comes to making a
This emotion is essential to the connection between humans as it allows them to understand each others’ misfortunes. Increased technology seems to be affecting this basic human feeling. Users feel more comfortable typing their thoughts than they would verbalizing them because their screen acts as a protective barrier, and the anonymity that comes with the internet permits a person to express any idea he or she can think of, no matter how careless it is. As described in Keith O’Brien’s “The Empathy Deficit”, a study that first began in 1979 shows that there is a fall in the amount of empathy in today’s youth, which many researchers believe to be the result of too much modern technology (464-468). Sara Konrath, the lead author of the study, claims that in the beginning of the study, the investigated levels of empathy in college students were “’looking sort of flat, or no real pattern, up until 2000. … And then there’s this sudden, sharp drop’” (O’Brien 467). Around the new millennium, video games, computers, and cell phones rose in popularity. Once this is taken into consideration, the correlation between increased technology and decreased levels of empathy is greatly supported. Professionals also see a relation between empathy and narcissism: “’Generally speaking,’ said Pincus [a professor of psychology at Penn State University], ‘there’s a lack of empathy as narcissism increases’” (O’Brien 466). This characteristic may also be linked to technology, as social media allows its users to portray themselves as highly as they like. As stated earlier, caring for others, whether they be friends, family, pets, or otherwise, is crucial when it comes to making a