Viral and harmful: Violence in media and its impact on empathy
keywords:
media violence / empathy / social media / desensitization / adolescents
Viral and harmful: Violence in media and its impact on empathy
From fight videos on TikTok to hate comments on Instagram, violence is omnipresent online, but what does it do to our empathy? Studies reveal that repeated exposure to digital aggression can reduce our ability to feel concern or discomfort when witnessing others' pain, especially in teens. Yet empathy doesn’t have to erode. This article explains how online violence affects our ability to care and offers practical strategies to maintain compassion in virtual spaces and effectively strengthen empathy over the long term. / more
Chronic Loneliness: Why Loneliness Can Make Us Even Lonelier
keywords:
loneliness / social isolation / cognitive bias / adolescents / mental health
Chronic Loneliness: Why Loneliness Can Make Us Even Lonelier
Loneliness can be more than a temporary feeling. For some, it becomes an invisible vicious cycle. Chronically lonely people experience social exclusion more intensely and find less joy in social interactions. They fall into cognitive traps that block the way out of isolation. This can have serious consequences, especially for adolescents. But how does this vicious cycle develop –and more importantly, how can it be broken? / more