Do the internet and video-games, etc. kill empathy?

Regarding the internet. I just had this thought the other day. In the past I am sure men were motivated by desire to be with a woman in a sexual way. Now someone can go to the internet and download a hot video and release a load. It seems that this immediate gratification would have an impact on the relationships between men and women.

Regarding video games. If it is violent then the subconscious is being programmed to reflect such beliefs. I now find video games boring after being once of those kids addicted to them for years. Now a game can barely keep me interested for more than 15 minutes.

Why play video games when one can astral project.


Peace

YES! They destroy the soul of a person!

Maybe, but mainly parents and lack of support.

Total BS,im 40, i play video games when i was 12 started with Pong.Had several consoles,played World of Warcraft 24/7 for 6 years.played so many shooters.
And every day i think of all the children who dies because of no food and water.
Everyday i think of all the helpless people in the world.
So how can videogames kill empathy.
Imho it is total bullshit.
Sure i loose Empathy for bankers and the people who are behind the scenes.May they ROT in hell.;)

You know what kills empathy... those ads for starving children in Africa.

I grew up regularly seeing starving, bloated bellied, skinny armed, snotty nosed kids in poverty and as a child I became desensitised to it.

I grew up having it drummed into me that its normal.

that's just your fucked up genetics

I think the internet can substitute at times what used to be the need for in-person bonding with friends/family, etc. I don't think we are wired in any sort of biological way for such a quick switch/adaptation to new methods of communication. Very good understanding/communication I think still depends on in-person interaction to gauge things such as body language, inflection of speech, etc. Without added environmental input it is difficult sometimes to gauge/get a clear picture of a situation or what can be done to assist.

This ties in with empathy, in that, I think those who express themselves well verbally on the internet will get more empathy from others, while some (who might desire it), will not receive empathy that they might in person simply due to the fact they do not communicate easily verbally or using main cues (emoticons, for instance) utilized on the internet while posting or chatting.

Does it kill empathy? No, I don't think so, IMHO, but it might affect who receives empathy.

As for video games, I think it largely depends on the person and why they are playing a game. Entertainment? Distraction? Curiosity? Imagination and fantasy? Expression of suppressed anger? Social interaction? Video games will temporarily feed a need possibly for any of those things, but they can never be a true substitute for complete communication, IMO, just like the internet. Whenever you're on the internet, or playing a video-game, no matter how much personal freedom one seems to have, you are still working within another person's created incomplete paradigm. There is emotional expressive freedom only as it exists within a framework.

Just my thoughts.

NO

I play shooter games and have empathy. I use it all the time and as a musician wrote a song entitled empathy.

Video games are fantasy & you should know the difference between reality & fantasy. If you don't you need to grow up.

Been gaming since Atari. You can't generalize people based on something they do. its ignorant.

At least somebody here understood the point I was making. The point being that the vast majority of people in the world today have psychopathic tendencies. It has been programed into their psyches from birth. Getting them to acknowledge what they are is nearly impossible. They cloak themselves in good deeds in order to hide what they really are. Our civilization is built on psychopathy. This is the primary reason why our civilization is doomed.

My apologies to the person I trolled making that point. Although most here missed it completely.

No hard feelings, in fact I agree it is valid to say that most insane people don't know they are insane. Although I do like to assume people are sane before I get to know them, not the other way around.

In your humble (and wrong) opinion.