Make effort to develop digital empathy

Sanjay Arora

In a world where most day-to-day communications happen via the internet, it goes without saying that all things formerly requiring human interaction are now digitised. However, some things update slower than others as can be seen in the generation gap between human interactions and standards of empathy.

While the real-world norm is to be polite to those who communicate with you, the same cannot be said for the world we have created online. The next logical step in the digital revolution is a step towards digitising empathy.

Be precise but not blunt

Therefore, to start with developing digital empathy, one should make a conscious effort towards being as precise as possible.

Being precise and being blunt, however, are two very different things and must not be confused with one another. Being blunt means to be sharp toned and hasty. This can easily come across as cold or rude, making the receiver reluctant to respond.

To be precise, on the other hand, means to communicate the smallest of specifications which may not have been necessary if the same communication took place in the physical realm.

Something like informing an individual about the receipt of a file only holds value on an online platforms, if the same file was to be handed over in person, a simple head nod response would suffice. Online acknowledgement holds value because possibilities of the file being corrupt or not having gone through are both plausible for the sender unless assured otherwise.

Being precise also means to be clear about the work being delegated by you to another individual through an online platform.

Tasks like asking someone to get you a printout may seem very simple at first. However, it is possible to have a lot of ambiguity attached to them if not undertaken with precision.

Simple things like formatting of documents on word or excel being distorted while being sent via email are very casually overlooked by most. To reduce the space for such errors to take place becomes important when considering digital empathy.

This is because telling or requesting someone to print something suggests that the responsibility to format the document is not theirs.

Tasks knowingly or unknowingly must not go beyond the instructions being communicated by you to another individual.

Though the task seems small on face value, formatting complicated documents can be quite tedious.

Therefore, instead of putting receivers in a possible position where they would either have to spend their own time re-formatting a document or feel embarrassed about asking you to double check what you sent, the easier and simply kinder thing to do is to be sure of what has been sent in the first place. There are many digital situations similar to this where it is important to be very clear about how data looks and can be distorted while travelling through different platforms.

Admit ignorance

Lastly, a lack of digital empathy can also be seen in situations where there is a lack of knowledge related to technology.

Often, certain functions or applications can give us a tough time due to lack of familiarity. Owning up to this lack of knowledge however, is not something everyone is comfortable doing.

It should be kept in mind that devices are unreliable and small mistakes can easily lead to loss of extremely valuable data. Therefore, asking for help or simply informing people that you are not well suited to do a task is way better than using trial and error to figure out technology. Not only does this save time while ensuring efficient completion of the task, it also prevents the potential loss of data extremely valuable to someone else.

A lack of digital empathy has the potential to come in between your relations and progress. Mishandling of data, ineffective outcomes due to digital limitations or simply the lack of a satisfactory response can easily cause frustration in the person you are communicating with.

Therefore, small messages of gratitude or spending 30 seconds on reading and analysing texts can go a long way. Feeling ignored or pestered online are both undesirable. If people avoid online contact with you, this might be the reason for it. So, working on your online communication skills will help get work done with more ease. This makes digital empathy a valuable tact to master in 2020. So check the tone of your messages before you land yourself in the pit of digital lull.

Avoid communication gaps

• Digital empathy is an indicator of how you value people as well as an important tool to maintain cordial relationships and avoid communication gaps.
• To exercise sensitivity towards individuals on online platforms one must put themselves in their shoes.
• Online interactions create a lot of room for misunderstanding. The aim of digital empathy then becomes to facilitate clarity of thought by actively trying to minimize possible confusions.
• Most feel that they know how to maneuver their way online, things like informing someone when files have been sent on a different medium than on which they were asked for or responding to someone on the receipt of data are often taken for granted.
• This careless approach to online conversations is borne out of how inconsequential the medium feels.
• Emotions of the receiver in response to messages remains unknown due to which the first and fastest message framed seems most appropriate.

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