Empathy between embodiment and digital depersonalization : philosophical and psychological aspects

Simonič, Barbara (author)

Empathy, the ability to understand and share the experience of another, is tra-ditionally understood as a cornerstone of interpersonal relationships and social cohesion. However, in the age of digital communication and the increasing virtu-alization of interactions, important questions arise about the nature, expression, and impact of empathy. The development of digital technology and the ubiquity of the internet are changing the way we interact and communicate with each other, with the physical aspect increasingly disappearing. although digital tools allow us to make contact quickly and efficiently, concerns are being raised about the impact of these forms of communication on the quality of interpersonal relationships. Digital communication is often text-based, asynchronous, and often anonymous, which reduces the presence of physical and social signs that are essential for a clas-sic empathic experience. against this backdrop, the discussion of empathy in the context of digital depersonalization requires a holistic approach that encompasses philosophical, psychological, and other perspectives. in this paper, we will address the challenges of empathy based on physicality and direct interpersonal contact, which are often diminished or absent in digital communication. This absence re-duces the possibility of a full empathic experience and promotes the phenomenon of depersonalization.

• Language: English
• Keywords: empathy, digital communication, depersonalization, embodiment, interpersonal relationships
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: TEOF - Theological Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 18.12.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 97-118, 334, 345-346
• Numbering: Let. 30, št. 119/120
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177694
• UDC: 159.942:004.9
• ISSN on article: 1318-8828
• DOI: 10.35469/poligrafi.2025.511
• COBISS.SI-ID: 262600707
• Publication date in RUL: 31.12.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Poligrafi : revija za religiologijo, mitologijo in filozofijo
• Shortened title: Poligrafi
• Publisher: Nova revija, Društvo za primerjalno religiologijo, Nova revija, Društvo za primerjalno religiologijo, Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče, Univerzitetna založba Annales, Društvo za primerjalno religiologijo, Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče, Annales ZRS, Društvo za primerjalno religiologijo
• ISSN: 1318-8828
• COBISS.SI-ID: 59336192

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Empatija med telesnostjo in digitalno depersonalizacijo

Abstract

Empatija kot zmožnost razumevanja in deljenja občutij drugega se tradicional-no razume kot temeljni kamen medosebnih odnosov in družbene kohezije. Ven-dar pa se v dobi digitalnega sporazumevanja in vse večje virtualizacije interakcij pojavljajo pomembna vprašanja o naravi, izrazu in vplivu empatije. Z razvojem digitalne tehnologije in razširjenostjo spleta se spreminjajo načini medsebojnega povezovanja in sporazumevanja, pri katerih telesni vidik izginja. Čeprav digitalna orodja omogočajo hitro in učinkovito vzpostavljanje stikov, se porajajo pomisle-ki o vplivu teh oblik sporazumevanja na kakovost medosebnih odnosov. Digital-no sporazumevanje je pogosto besedilno, asinhrono in velikokrat anonimno, kar zmanjšuje prisotnost telesnih in družbenih znakov, ki so bistveni za klasično em-patično izkušnjo. ob upoštevanju tega razprava o empatiji v kontekstu digitalne depersonalizacije zahteva celosten pristop, ki zajema filozofske, psihološke in druge vidike. V prispevku bomo obravnavali izzive empatije, ki temelji na telesnosti in neposrednem medčloveškem stiku, ti temelji pa so pri digitalnem sporazumevanju pogosto okrnjeni ali popolnoma odsotni. prav ta odsotnost zmanjšuje možnost polne empatične izkušnje in spodbuja pojav depersonalizacije.

• Keywords: empatija, digitalno sporazumevanje, depersonaliizacija, utelešenost, medosebni odnosi

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J6-60105-2025
• Name: Teologija in digitalizacija: antropološki in etični izzivi