The impact of social media on empathy

ith the rise of social media and new technology, breaking news from across the globe has become more accessible than ever before. Anyone can see what is happening anywhere in a split second, while also being able to comment, share, and interact with said news. According to Statista, In the United States, social media and television is the source of 85% of news, with the leading social network provider of news being Facebook, while radio and print papers make up only 11%. Being able to share and receive news from across the globe with the touch of a button can connect people more than ever. “I think that people are more aware of what’s going on across the globe because we are so connected through social media, so things that are happening like the Hong Kong protests, we are well aware of, even here in Liberty, Missouri because we are seeing it through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook,” theater teacher Kim Lenger said. According to the Pew Research center, there is an average of 21,711,285 unique visitors to digital news outlets every month. However, with such a constant flow of information, it can have both positive and negative effects on society. “I think that when you have something where you are constantly receiving bad information, you can get to this point where you do not really see it as a threat anymore and you just become numb to it. Because you are constantly receiving this information, you get to that point where you will hear about a mass shooting and forget about it in a week. I feel like that is happening a lot among our generation and it makes it so that, it is not that people do not care, it is just that people have become so accustomed to it that it does not stay substantial in our minds,” junior Meghan Hammond said. With such easy access to news and information, this can lead to some people depending solely on social media and online news outlets for information about what is going on in the world. According to Statista, an average of 42.4% of Americans rely on online national news outlets to stay informed. “By having constant access to news, I definitely think it impedes people’s opinions because if you see something on one news site, typically people that are not as informed just use that one opinion of whatever is going on in the world. People not getting out in the world and hearing more hurts a lot,” junior Kyle Leighton-Floyd said. Along with online news outlets and social media becoming a more prevalent source of news, there has also come along the rise of what some have dubbed “fake news”. In fact, according to Statista, 60% of Americans believe that social media has in some way contributed to the spread of said “fake news”. “I think the media used to be a lot less biased and it was a lot harder for people to be biased because everything was pretty much local. But now when you expand everyone’s world view with companies like CNN or Fox News, which are very split down party lines, it is something where people are getting fed so much information they do not know which side to believe and so now it is less focused on accuracy, it is more focused on opinion,” Hammond said.

Another aspect of social media that has become more prevalent in the last couple of years is how it is helping and/or harming the spread of environmental awareness. For some, it seems to be doing more bad than good. “It is a lot easier to click and share something Want to help Out? Visit teamtrees.org to donate money to help plant trees across the world W

on your Instagram story, then it actually is to plant a tree, or clean up a lake, etc.. There is a lot of ‘clout’ that has built up around being environmentally friendly and using metal straws, things like that. It is a lot harder to actually go out and make a difference than it is to just share a post,” Leighton-Floyd said. While the rise in social media can increase awareness of environmental causes, it still leaves the question of whether social media is enough. I think people do that because, yes raising awareness is a good thing, but when it comes to the environment the only way you can genuinely help is to go out there and do things yourself. Plant a tree, make a garden. You have to be hands-on because you can not feel the Earth beneath you just sitting on your phone, you can only do that outside in the real world. I think people want to feel like they are making a difference but in reality, they are not doing much,” Hammond said. However, movements like #TeamTrees, whose goal is to plant 20 million trees by January 1st, 2020, have been able to initiate the planting of trees in order to combat deforestation and aid our environment. The entire movement was started on Youtube and so far has planted almost 19 million trees. “TeamTrees is proof that the age of the internet is not an embarrassment on our timeline and instead has allowed us to embark on a journey of coming together via the combined effort of reversing climate change,” senior Claire Jones said. Several other movements, not having to do with the environment, have also been started through social media. Movements like #metoo and #BlackLivesMatter have sparked discussions throughout the media in recent years. “I think social media is really good for telling stories so for things like the #metoo movement and black lives matter it gives people an opportunity to share what they have experienced and the hardships they go through with certain issues. I think social media has influenced it in a good way because it allows information to be told directly from that person,” Hammond said. But, while these movements may have had good intentions in the beginning, like anything on the media, they can be misconstrued to fit any agenda. “I think it gives a name to the issue and starts a conversation, but sometimes it does not start a genuine conversation because it is so superficial and we do not get all the facts because we are just reading soundbites and clickbait kind of stuff, so no real dialogue is happening on the issues,” Lenger said. Even with the rise of social media and the constant flow of information directly into the hands of average people, there are still some things that often do not make it into the news such as day-to-day struggles, persecution, and poverty. “I think that media does not cover those topics because the media wants something that is going to be eye-catching and when people view the media and see it that those things are right around them it makes them feel bad about themselves because they have to acknowledge their privilege. But, they do not want to do anything about it because their privilege makes them feel bad that they have it. So, they would rather hear about things globally because it helps them to think that it is not an American thing but we do have a lot of issues in America,” Hammond said. Another part of American life that some people believe goes unrecognized or misconstrued by the media is veterans and soldiers. ev indepth “You have to be hands-on because you cannot feel the Earth beneath you just sitting on your phone, you can only do that outside in the real world,” junior meghan hammond said.

Some people have been using social media as an outlet to spread awareness for environmental issues for some time. Some continue to use it today as their voice to the world. “I think that social media has made people be superficially involved. They think that if they retweet something, or they hashtag something, they are doing something, which is more than they would be doing if they did not know anything about it,” Lenger said.

photo by: Ashton Overby

. “A lot of the times when they [the media] reports on battles, they just say ‘Oh, so many troops killed’ and they never put a face or a story to it. We just hear about the story and it never goes any further. We do not actually know the struggles our soldiers and veterans are going through and it is sad because a lot of our Marines are there on the frontlines and they are the ones making those decisions and they are not getting the credit they deserve,” senior Dawson Moraites said. The media can also cast a positive light on veterans at times but another group that has come under fire by the media recently are police officers.

“The media, for the most part, treats veterans pretty well and does a pretty good job of saying, ‘Hey, be kind to veterans, donate to veteran organizations’. But to military service members, they do not always get portrayed the best when they are in places like Iraq. As for police officers, they are constantly getting bashed on by the media. According to the media, they can not seem to ever do anything right and they never tell the good stories about what police officers do. It always makes you associate the police officers as terrible people,” senior Cooper Bratcher said. Overall, social media has had multiple effects on people’s lives, both good and bad, as it has become more and more prevalent in society. However, for some, it seems that there is more to be done and more to be helped in order to make the world a better place. “I think that social media has made people be superficially involved. They think that if they retweet something, or they hashtag something, they are doing something, which is more than they would be doing if they did not know anything about it. I think we are doing some fake activism right now and it is making people feel better about themselves, but it is not addressing the actual problems,” Lenger said. “A lot of the times when they [the media] reports on battles, they just say ‘Oh, so many troops killed’ and they never put a face or a story to it. We just hear about the story and it never goes any further. We do not actually know the struggles our soldiers and veterans are going through and it is sad because a lot of our Marines are there on the frontlines and they are the ones making those decisions and they are not getting the credit they deserve,” senior Dawson Moraites said. The media can also cast a positive light on veterans at times but another group that has come under fire by the media recently are police officers. “The media, for the most part, treats veterans pretty well and does a pretty good job of saying, ‘Hey, be kind to veterans, donate to veteran organizations’. But to military service members, they do not always get portrayed the best when they are in places like Iraq. As for police officers, they are constantly getting bashed on by the media. According to the media, they can not seem to ever do anything right and they never tell the good stories about what police officers do. It always makes you associate the police officers as terrible people,” senior Cooper Bratcher said. Overall, social media has had multiple effects on people’s lives, both good and bad, as it has become more and more prevalent in society. However, for some, it seems that there is more to be done and more to be helped in order to make the world a better place. “I think that social media has made people be superficially involved. They think that if they retweet something, or they hashtag something, they are doing something, which is more than they would be doing if they did not know anything about it. I think we are doing some fake activism right now and it is making people feel better about themselves, but it is not addressing the actual problems,” Lenger said.

statistics from oberlo.com