Essay On Atrophy And Regeneration

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One might think that since we are seeing other people’s lives, it would help improve empathy. However, it is doing the opposite because we are so concerned with how people see our own lives. Times states, “as narcissism increases empathy levels fall” (Times). Most people can relate with quickly scrolling through the hundreds of Facebook and Instagram posts, yet spending a significant amount of time on their own posts. Being so self-absorbed gives little room to empathize with others. Often, when people see other’s posts, they play the comparison game. Are their friends doing more “cool” things? Do they have more friends or followers? Is their body better? The list goes on concerning the possible comparisons that can be made between people. …show more content…

Paul Anderson and Sara Konrath write that “the ability to empathize is like a muscle capable of growth, atrophy, disability, and even regeneration…for some people empathy comes easily and naturally; for others, concerted effort is required to stretch our imaginations beyond ourselves” (Anderson and Konrath). For the purpose of this paper I will focus on atrophy and regeneration because they articulate two extremes. The idea that empathy can be regenerated is very intriguing. Since adolescents’ empathy seems to continually be on the decline, is there still hope that they could still restore that lost empathy at a later time in life? This is something that varies person to person. Because many delicate parts come together to form a person and their aptitude to empathy, no person will have the same possibility to regenerate their lost empathetic skills. On the other side of the spectrum, atrophy means for something to deteriorate or completely die out. It is more rare for someone to lose every bit of empathy, but still possible. In society this person would be considered a psychopath. Psychopaths are said to be “incapable of empathy and forming loving relationships” (Diffen). This characteristic shows that empathy and loving relationships are intricately

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