Is Technology Killing Empathy?

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss (...) These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen” (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross). Compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern make mankind beautiful, but it also makes it defenseless . When one has concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others, he takes sacrifices, risks, and lives with uncertainty. When man is compassionate, he lives a vulnerable life. Love and compassion bring out the beauty in mankind, but they can also bring out its weaknesses. Because of man’s compassion, he

Technology diminishes our empathy. In the last paragraph of, “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price,” the author says, “We did not go out to dinner, we just sat there on our devices.” Technology demands your time. Almost always the time that is given up is family time.

Are people born with a complete quandary when it comes to compassion or is it something that has always been there? Barbara Lazear Ascher, born in 1946, writes, “On Compassion.” Having lived in New York City, Ascher is able to take first hand examples from the city to show the affection people have towards each other. Ascher is able to illustrate that compassion is something that has to be taught because of the adversity at people’s heels by including tone, persuasive appeals, and the mode of comparing and contrast in her essay, “On Compassion.”

“And yet, it may be that these are the conditions that finally give birth to empathy, the mother of compression. We cannot deny the existence of the helpless as their presence grows. It is impossible to insulate ourselves against what is at our very doorstep. I don’t believe that one is born compassionate. Compassion is

“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal”. This quote by Steve Maraboli may be hard to understand, but the Holocaust texts: Night by Elie Wiesel, “A Three Year Old Saves His Mother” by Peter Gorog and “Jakob's Story” by Jakob Blankitny are great examples of where compassion is necessary to fight the despair in heartbreaking situations. In each work, compassion shows up from unexpected sources, helps motivate people to survive, and creates greater unification.

In our culture today we see the progression of how technology has affected our social makeup. In “Is Google Making us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, the writer makes clear that our current use of technology has diminished our ability to think critically. While one could agree with Carr’s point, there is also an issue that has a greater level of concern. Our ability to think critically about the information we gather is only a resultant consequence of the population’s new-found focus on technology rather than relating intentionally. Why is it that our current social constructs are made up almost entirely of technology? What happened to the time when humans interacted outside of their obsession to seek comfort from what lacks any empathy (their phones), rather than real humans?

This shows how technology makes us more alone and ruin our social skills.As a general rule , when people aren't connecting with people the way they should because technology is getting in the way then this shows that technology can make us more alone.The writer of time states , “You can’t learn nonverbal emotional cues from a screen in the way you can learn it from face-to-face communication.” (Benny).This shows being on social media or technology too much can mess with your ability to learn about emotions. This shows that technology can make us more alone and ruin our social skills.As a general rule , when being on your technology ruins your ability to learn emotional cues then technology can make us more

Dalai Lama once said “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” But how does one learn how to love or feel compassion for others? People all around the world wonder why the feel compassion for others. Most people feel compassion because it helps them understand how others are feeling so they can respond appropriately to a certain situation. Barbara Lazear Ascher, a former attorney and a current author, focused on compassion and how it is developed by people. Ascher’s purpose is to show that compassion is not something that you are born with, it is something that you have to learn and practice throughout your lifetime. A way to practice compassion is when you see homeless. Ascher’s reaches her

Compassion from God is necessary for the survival of the

Compassion has little to no boundries. In almost every great story there is a specific character or a group of characters that help the protagonist because they feel bad for them. Compassion is the most important aspect of a functioning society; therefore, Elie Wiesel’s Night, 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose, and the generosity of spirit shown by the average citizen after the recent shooting in Las Vegas are all perfect examples.

The argument that “the greatest threat to one’s own humanity is indifference to the suffering of others” is accurate, because compassion for each other is what brings one’s humanity closer together.

Elie Wiesel talks about compassion because the lack of it caused the Holocaust. Compassion was needed during that event because no one felt for the Jews. If the Germans showed sincerity and empathy, the killing wouldn't have happened. Also, he talks about compassion because he wants the new generation to know about it. That is because the new generation will be the next generation of people in the world. So they must know to care for others during dark times. Finally, he talks about compassion because it is an important part of humanity. For us humans to live peacefully, we must show compassion.

Some people may argue that technology makes us more compassionate and willing to give. For example, on page 269 of Blue Gold, it says that over 30,000 people have signed a petition Sylvie into Canada even though they don’t know her or have a connection to her. However, technology makes us more selfish overall. Smartphones are making ourselves more wrapped in ourselves than ever (Document 5). In document 7 it says technology has made us more selfish and separate than ever. That is why we need to limit our technology and grow more compassion and selflessness.

“Compassionate people are geniuses in the art of living, more necessary to the dignity, security, and joy of humanity than the discoveries of knowledge.” -- Albert Einstein

The Idea Of Compassion The three sources that have been studied for this essay opened my mind to new ideas on what compassion really is in different ways. The first source, “Compassion Our First Instinct”, provided statistics from scientific studies and examples throughout the text. The second source, “How Do YOU Define Yourself”, provided motivational speeches and personal tales of self-compassion. The third source,”We Dine Together”, gave real-life scenarios and solutions to bullying through empathy/compassion.