Abstract
Online audiovisual interaction (AVOI), though minimal, constitutes a form of embodiment. This implies that empathy can be fostered even in non-co-located individuals through online platforms. To address both the limitations and potential of online embodied interaction the article develops a framework for comprehending and cultivating empathy in the virtual realm. It argues that empathy is a skill that is fundamentally tied to our physical and sensory experiences, and therefore, dismisses the Theory of Mind (ToM) model for reducing empathy to mere mental constructs with inherent limitations. Instead, it draws upon Embodied Cognitive Science (ECS) to show that the feeling of disembodiment experienced in AVOI can be conceptualised as a “shrinking of” the social space. With the aim of both widening and deepening this space, the article introduces concrete guidelines that can help enrich the embodied and interactive experience in AVOI. Thereby, highlighting ways of integrating spatiality and physical engagement in the audiovisual online sphere, in addition to nurturing awareness and digital tact.
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Notes
Often referred to as video conferencing. When employing terms like “online/virtual space” or “video conferencing” we refer to AVOI (unless explicitly specified otherwise).
See Maibom (2017) for a discussion on so-called “affective empathy”.
For example, facial expressions and bodily movements are central to Stueber’s (2006) conception of basic empathy. The visual cues from another’s body language and emotional expressivity activate mirror neurons in the observer, which in turn allows for a feeling of similarity through inner resonance. This perceived similarity constitutes the basis for our simulative capacities.
Consult Lindblom (2020) for an overview of the research on the role and relevance of the body in social cognition.
Fuchs also often refers to a third level, namely “reiterated” empathy, which will not be discussed here. See, for example, Fuchs (2017).
Here Fuchs leans on research from scholars like Condon (1979), Grammer, Kruck, and Magnusson (1998), Issartel, Marin, and Cadopi (2007), and Kendon (1990).
As we will see below, this felt reduction in communicative freedom can sometimes be compensated by other forms of freedom afforded by AVOI, but that does not change the fact that the interactors often feel limited in such encounters.
Although the facilitators are well advised to keep an open ear for feedback from the participants both in the sessions and parallel to them (e.g., by email correspondence).
See Sect. 5.2 for a discussion on the use of objects in AVOI.
There is of course the risk of asymmetry between those who have a place of their own where it is easier to make measures for comfort and those who are dependent on external rooms (as described above). Yet, preparatory rituals (boiling tea, airing room, making it more comfortable with cushions etc.) can often be made in external rooms as well. Moreover, we believe that when members of the group experience enhanced levels of comfort, their ease can have a positive impact on the interaction and thus contribute to the comfort of the others (even if this comfort is social rather than spatial).
For cognitively more demanding exercises of this sort (miming and movements) adapted to AVOI we recommend consulting Vuuren and Freisleben (2020), while Özenc and Fajardo (2021) offer several other embodied rituals aimed at creating more efficient, enjoyable, and inspiring professional virtual meetings.
See also Ahessy (2023) for a study on the positive effects of online musical therapy for bonding and interacting among visually impaired children/adolescents and their family members.
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Torbjørnsen, R.R., Hipólito, I. Widening the screen: embodied cognition and audiovisual online social interaction in the digital age. AI & Soc (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01844-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01844-5