Is social media a way to capitalize on our ability to connect and empathize with all humans or does it feed narcissism, materialism, violence, and aggression?
After being extremely connected to social networking sites for over two years, I’ve seen both.
My mother taught me a saying, (in Spanish called a “dicho”) that goes “Dime con quien andas y te digo quien eres.” This literally translates to “Tell me who you’re with, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
If our brain fires every time we see someone else go through a specific set of emotions, then it would matter who we’re around and how they respond to things. If we are around nasty and brutish people, then that is what we’ll experience.
I’ve had the honor of being connected to some amazingly positive people on sites like Twitter and that has helped keep me sane over the past two years.
This British Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) video examines the concept of an empathic society.
What do you think, is the video overly optimistic or is narcissism more powerful then the need for connection and empathy?
Thanks to Neil Kramer (@Neilochka) for posting a link to this video on Twitter.