Computer-mediated Empathy

TL;DR

This paper discusses how computer-mediated communication impacts empathy, proposing a framework to analyze and enhance empathetic interactions through technology, highlighting opportunities and challenges for designing empathetic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework for understanding empathy in digital communication and explores how computing can support or hinder empathetic elements.

Findings

Framework breakdown of empathy elements

Analysis of technology's role in supporting empathy

Guidelines for designing empathetic digital systems

Abstract

While novel social networks and emerging technologies help us transcend the spatial and temporal constraints inherent to in-person communication, the trade-off is a loss of natural expressivity. While empathetic interaction is already challenging in in-person communication, computer-mediated communication makes such empathetically rich communication even more difficult. Are technology and intelligent systems opportunities or threats to more empathic interpersonal communication? Realizing empathy is suggested not only as a way to communicate with others but also to design products for users and facilitate creativity. In this position paper, I suggest a framework to breakdown empathy, introduce each element, and show how computing, technologies, and algorithms can support (or hinder) certain elements of the empathy framework.