In an article on a media entertainment website, Manimanjari Sengupta, synthesizes a list of popular films written in different time periods, in different languages, about different topics that people have claimed have changed the way they look at life. Pay it Forward, one of the many movies on the list, is a story about a young boy who tries to spread altruism by attempting to start a trend of passing on acts of kindness and compassion. By juxtaposing the rough details of Trevor’s personal life with his passion for spreading kindness, the storyteller forces the audience to feel the same emotions as Trevor does thus making “you yearn for a better world where there is a pay-it-forward scheme of kindness, and inspires you to try and do the same” (scoopwhoop.com). Movies that are written with a tension that lures the viewer into the character’s world and mind allows audiences to emotionally partake in new experiences. The audiences leave the theater with a broadened perspective. The empathy trend is apparent in all established stories in both the print and digital age, but does the trend continue for new forms of storytelling on new digital media …show more content…
In a lifehacker.com article about “Why We’re Hooked on Social Networks,” Thorin Klosowski describes how “a 2010 study from Carnegie Mellon found that, when people engaged in direct interaction with others—that is, posting on walls, messaging, or "liking" something—their feelings of bonding and general social capital increased, while their sense of loneliness decreased …it seems like if you want that sense of belonging, you 'll need to participate in your social network of choice, not just flood it with your own thoughts.” No relationship or story can be successful if it is all give or take. Klosowski relates the act of sharing information on a social media platform to using a scrapbook to synthesize information overload. By participating and caring about the stories of others, people diminish loneliness by creating a sense of community where their own stories mix with those of people they care about. Together, individuals create their own stories while adding and accepting from others. Social media promotes empathy by making story telling a social experience. Stories become more realistic as they are no longer just about one person’s story, but about the way individual lives are affected by those of the people they cross paths with. When human’s lives are blended together