Empathy can save lives

The number of elderly people dying at their homes and being found there after long periods of time, is increasing. According to the british General Household Survey, the percentage of households with 65 years old residents or older is 6.7 percent of all households. This fear is shared by a growing percent of the elderly population, who lives alone. As this sector of the population grows, there is a high probability that these cases of elderly people dying at their homes will increase in the years to come. The Government estimates that by 2030, this number will hit 83,000. The phenomenon is growing in many societies, where life expectancy is increasing and people are living longer by its own, but for some people it is a sign of the dehumanization of relationships and the lack of empathy in our society.

But how can our lack of empathy kill our humanity? Well, let me start by saying that If we cannot understand the feelings of another person, then we will be unable to stand in someone else’s shoes and try to feel what they are feeling, and this will cause a loss of interest in other people’s feelings. There are different reasons and factors involved for the lack of empathy like the genetics, cultural roots, personal background and experiences of a person. For example, if someone has been through a trauma, it is very likely for that person to start therefore disconnecting itself from others and stop feeling, which causes the lack of empathy towards others. Other possible causes are the increase of materialism and a changing parenting methodology, which can also affect the lack of empathy. 

However, one of the main reasons for this dehumanization is technology. We live in a narcissistic society, which means that we are increasingly concerned about ourselves and our well being, and less about others, a problem that has been encouraged by social media. Social networks have influenced human behavior in a negative way. People don’t interact face to face much anymore and in order to be more empathic, we need to learn to read facial expressions, more importantly, the eyes, and this is an ability that needs to be trained. This issue can not be avoided by removing all technological devices from the market but finding a balance in our society. 

In conclusion, the issue of the abandonment of elderly population, in my opinion, could be avoided if the person affected would search for support outside the family and friends, for example, in neighbours or acquaintances, and also the other way round, that way the elderly population and the people living alone would be more in contact with other people and they wouldn’t feel so alone anymore. So, in order to increase our empathy, instead of trying to guess the meanings behind the text messages received, we should try to guess the meaning of the eyes of the ones surrounding us. Empathy is one of the most valued resources of humanity and it should be used more often.