Relationship between Sympathizing with Others by Internet Use and Empathy

Abstract

We set up the theoretical hypothesis that communication on social network service (SNS) in internet environment improves empathy, real human relations and quality of life (QOL) into a chain reaction. It was investigated and analyzed statistically based on questionnaire surveys of university students in the information sciences, and the hypothesis was analyzed by the structural equation model. The results appeared to verify our hypothesis, and the empathy with communicating on SNS gave real human relations and QOL stronger improvement effects, in comparison with adverse effects on them of SNS tired and Techno-Internet addiction disorder tendency. Moreover, it was suggested that empathy in the real world can be improved by empathy on the Internet.