1 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMPATHY by FRANKLIN M. COLLINS (Under the Direction of Michael E. Nielsen) ABSTRACT The relationship between social media and empathy has not been explored extensive ly. Research on the expression of emotion and the association with empathy displayed on social media websites have been minimally explored. This study sought to support findings that ch atting online leads to expressions of empathy (Rosen, 2012) and a positive relationship ex ists between conversing with others online and empathic expression (Ivcevic & Ambady, 2012. Empa thic concern was hypothesized to show a positive relationship with one’s likelihood to chat , time on Facebook, and emotional connection to Facebook or Facebook usage. Empathic concern also was predicted to be greater among computer users, relative to tablet or mobile phone users. Finally, it was predicted that the extent to which one uses Facebook would be associat ed with greater expression of empathic concern. Pearson's r was calculated to asses s the correlation of empathic concern with the variables likelihood to chat, time on Facebook, and Facebook usag e, and an independent samples t-test was conducted in order to compare concern by devi ce type. Analyses confirmed the positive correlation of empathic concern with likelihood to chat, time on facebook, and Facebook usage, but did not find that empathy varied by device type. A regre ssion analysis revealed that Facebook usage did not improve predictions of empathic conce rn beyond that of the control variables. Strengths, limitations and implications for future research were discussed. INDEX WORDS: Empathy, Social media, Correlation, Regression, Georgia Southern University
Benedict Arnold 