empathy or the lack thereof

[Deckard]

Originally Posted by Strangelet

I happen to believe that empathy *is* dwindling in western society, so this study proves something I've long felt to be true. Which raises the question: why?

I'm so unqualified to answer that, all I'm able to do is hand you a big bag of words and phrases....... capitalism, consumerism, selfishness, advertising, narcissism, internet, anonymity, freedom, 'name on a screen', no boundaries, everything can be mocked, nothing off limits, affluence, improvements in health (in other words, less misfortune)......... with a vague sense that some complex interaction between all these things and more is what could be contributing to the trend towards dwindling empathy. (The complexity and deep-rootedness is what makes it so difficult to alter.)

One other connection I might draw is between the lack of empathy you're writing about, and location. I notice a marked difference both nationally (between local semi-rural areas and cities) and internationally (between modern affluent societies, and those less well off) in respect of the attitudes of people I meet.

Incidentally, I clicked on this today (BBC News) ...

Wigan pond death Facebook group hit by 'vile' comments

Wednesday, 2 June 2010 10:13 UK

Friends of a suspected murder victim have hit out at anonymous users who bombarded a Facebook tribute group with offensive comments and pictures. The page was set up hours after 17-year-old Dylan Aaron's body was found in a pond in Hindley, Wigan, on Sunday. But tributes to the teenager were soon swamped with comments and pictures mocking his death ... Dylan died in the early hours of Sunday after apparently being assaulted and disappearing into the pond off Ladies Lane, Hindley.

Tell me I'm not just turning into some fist-waving "Kids of today!!"-grumbling old fart by noticing (and lamenting) a rise in this kind of behaviour? Bunches of youths torturing a cat to death; schoolgirls punching a granny in the face and recording it on their phones; that sort of thing.

Not even stuff as physical as that. Often it's just the impression you get when you read what passes for 'comment' on the internet. Or more general behaviour. ("Stephen Fry suffers from manic depression? Haha, I'm going to tweet him that he's a smug bore who should just kill himself and get it over with. Me, guilty? No - it's a laff, innit?")

The risk is always of falling into a Daily Mail worldview which is distorted and sanctimonious for the sake of it. But I can't see how anyone can not notice the trend. It's not just those comments that appear below the fold on YouTube. It's more mainstream and supposedly more adult discussion areas.

Originally Posted by Strangelet

In other words: by all means be individualistic. just make sure you make others' individuality commensurately real and valuable, otherwise all sorts of mischief ensues. Which is the point of the article and the study. Kids are getting part of it right. not the whole thing.

Very interesting. Question is, how the heck do we do that?