In the age of hyperconnectivity, we are rapidly growing into apathy never witnessed in history. It was believed that getting connected created empathy and even love, and a more plausible solution to human issues could be done, wars could be avoided, epidemics and calamities could be avoided but unfortunately, the more we are connected, the more we become apathetic.
The most effective reason for this shift
may be the Hyperconnectivity, not the physical proximity for which human was trained and designed. Moreover, globalization, one village concept, has not been able to connect the people for mutual benefit, but for the benefit of the few under the guise of liberalism and neo-liberalism. And so, the lack of Empathy is causing more depression and anxiety among humans instead of decreasing it.
Globalization, one village concept, has not been able to connect the people for mutual benefit, but for the benefit of the few under the guise of liberalism and neo-liberalism.
Not only at the psychological level, but the declining empathy is also contributing to the intolerant sociopolitical attitudes among the people. The glaring examples can be seen in the recently initiated needless wars among the educated and developed nations of the world, like Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Iran and recently Indo-Pak. These are unwanted wars and conflicts which are very rapidly diminishing the hard-earned humanistic and human rights values in Europe even, which had initiated human rights movements and achieved high watermarks in this regard.
The same holds good about the oligarchs, tycoons, and capitalistic feudal who used to spend to uplift the suffering humanity and decrease poverty, now they are busy only amassing wealth at every cost. The recent closure of many human support-oriented agencies in the USA. The same holds good for the resources which humanity now does not want to share and instead the powerful want to grab them for their personal use only. There is therefore a clear divide in the world and the age-old theory of Us/Others is stressing itself practically and, consequently, racist, supremacist and imperialist attitudes are prevailing.
In such a precarious situation, one of the root causes of this apathetic attitude must be analyzed and understood to find a proper cure. Here empathy should not be simply taken as a kind of sympathy or kindness. Instead, it may be understood as the opinion of Martin Bubar reverberated that empathy is looking at the world from perspective of the others in a world where human beings interact with each other in proximity and share face-to-face dialogue, rituals, and non-verbal body language. This is what is lost in the name of connectivity online and so is the prevailing apathetic attitude of humanity. This has weakened the bonding and relationships even among friends, parents children, and communities.
Social media was supposed to fill this gap and connect people with positive human values, mainly empathy, but very soon it turned to performance instead of presence. Immediately, humans have been replaced by hashtags because of the attention economy and speed as they survive and thrive on clicks, outrage and viral emotions.
It has now no capacity for a slow reflective understanding which has removed empathy and positive values from us. The proof can be seen in online trolling, cancel culture, anonymity and cyberbullying, and creating an environment where human sufferings become digestible crises which renders us unable to feel empathetic about sad stories or war-torn people and places.
The issue erupts when we want technology to do more for us instead of taking the lead position to connect. Now the screen has become the face, and the face disappears behind the screen. This results in technically speaking screen connection instead of a human connection. We become therefore in the words of Sherry Turkle ‘Together- Alone’. The worst outcome of the overexposure to screen is the reduction of human emotional understanding of each other, especially among children.
It is also a bitter reality now that we cannot do away with the strongest and strangest hold of technology in our lives. So, the need is to use technology that fosters human relations in an empathetic sense because empathy is not just an emotion, it is a collective sociopolitical responsibility. Humans can stay human with all their empathy when technology is used to create solidarity and sharing of pains and pleasures together.
This should be cultivated through multiple means of connectivity. Educational institutions must play a much-needed role in promoting digital ethics and media literacy among students to prioritize human interaction over engagement metrics by cultivating the art of listening to others without distraction and without being judgmental.
Decline of empathy may be inevitable in an environment of Hyperconnectivity but still, it is possible to pause, reflect and feel without thinking that empathy would be downloaded automatically and believing that it must be practiced, especially in this age of escalating divisions. Empathy among us is our last chance to rediscover what it means to be a human.
The writer is a professor of English at Government Emerson University, Multan. He can be reached at zeadogar@ hotmail.com and Tweets @Profzee