(happy instrumental music)
(audience applauding)
- Good afternoon, everyone.
How's everyone doing?
(audience cheering)
Well, thank you so much for staying to the end,
I really appreciate it.
And I am happy that you can all
dive into this experience with me
of talking about empathy and cultivating empathy online
and how that plays into our sense of belonging on campus.
So, a little bit about myself.
My name is Erika Castañon, I am a graduate student
in the Higher Education, Administration
and Leadership program here on campus.
I also received my bachelor's degree here
in Mass Communication and Journalism.
So, talking about things
that have moved from being communication
or technologies moving forward into the future,
thinking about how we can be more empathetic online.
So, we talked a little bit
about the principles of community,
thanks Dr. Mullooly for introducing that,
so I thought about, how do we treat each other online?
How are we kind on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?
And that's really difficult but I know that we can do that.
One thing that I thought was a great example of kindness,
this is a story that went viral in 2016,
where this woman here accidentally texted this teenager here
and invited him to her Thanksgiving dinner
thinking it was her grandson. (laughs)
The funny thing is,
they actually built a relationship after this.
He kept coming back to dinners.
If that's not kindness, I don't know what that is.
She invited this teenager she met online,
or through text messaging, by accident.
So the thing is, we can form relationships and bonds
online, through texting.
These people in these photos,
you don't know if they're talking to their mom, their dad,
or they're talking to their friend
that lives in another city.
And that's okay that we're using this medium
to keep in contact with each other.
Now, the issue is, there's not like a clear checkmark,
my friend's okay, or X this friend is not okay.
We don't know when to reach out.
We find it uncomfortable
to maybe deep dive into their problems and their issues
and we don't know how to cross those barriers
that form deeper, long-lasting relationships
besides just sharing that friendship online.
And so that's where the difference
between empathy and sympathy lies.
So, empathy allows you to stand in the middle of the circle
and feel supported and surrounded
by the group of people who understand you.
Whereas sympathy, you're left outside,
and that's not belonging.
You're left outside the circle
because everyone just feels a little sorry for you
and they don't understand what you're going through.
So I understand that, based off the title of this book,
we do filter out a lot of our lives
when we post online and share with people.
We have a choice.
So we're maybe not sharing authentically
exactly what our life is about, there highs and the lows.
We just wanna present what we think might get the most likes
or the most attention.
And I know from myself,
as someone who's created digital content
for on-campus organizations, non-profits,
and other organizations across the community,
that I am trained to portray a certain thing
to get some feedback and some comments from people.
But what I'm missing, or what sometimes I notice is missing,
is a real engagement in conversation.
And another issue, again, I don't wanna harp on the issues,
I just want to present them and lay it out clearly,
is we're living in a very divisive time online.
There's in groups and out groups.
The in groups are the people who you agree with,
the people that you're saying, yes, I love that,
I love what you have to say.
But then there's the out groups,
so once you're part of that out group,
you can't find a way back in.
It's messy, building relationships
and crossing those bridges is really hard.
So how do we create authentic dialogue
amongst the different groups that are here?
Faculty, staff, students,
how do we make sure that we're not leaving people out
of our conversations that are happening,
the things that we're doing to build students' success?
So the big E, the big tips on creating empathy online,
is first we start the dialogue and the discussion.
And it starts here today.
We've talked about the different ways
that we can contribute to being better communicators,
being better collaborators,
and now how do we make sure everyone's belonging?
Or ensure the belonging of our students
in our campus community.
So I like to think of it as,
imagine being that person on stage
and receiving the support.
That arena and support system,
everyone's looking out at you
and right now I feel like I belong here
because of you in the audience, you're showing me support.
Another thing that's great about online communities
is the creators that are online.
Whether that's creators in software and digital technology
or people who are musicians and artists,
or even transformation groups,
people who are competing in online challenges
to better transform their lives
and they're creating actual empathetic relationships online.
We also cannot be afraid to say this.
To say that we like you, too.
It's powerful.
There's something that shows people that you matter.
So if we just take that step over
and besides liking it or (mic cuts out) it
and actually share what we think,
it's gonna mean a lot to the student
or the staff member or faculty member
on the other side of that conversation.
So, empathy just happens to be one of my top-five strengths
and I find it interesting
that empathy is a big conversation,
as William introduced that earlier
when he spoke about collaborating.
But the thing is there's some cracks in our foundation
and that's not because of online technology,
that's because of what's happening
in real life everyday situations.
So it starts with you having these conversations
in real life and showing the person that you truly do care
and saying that I can stand in this with you.
And so, because we're here
and because we've also introduced these ideas of being kind
and fostering a sense of belonging, you belong here too.
It's not just about my belonging,
it's about all of our belonging collectively.
And I think that's gonna be
what's gonna carry us into tomorrow,
into the rest of our day,
into, again, look at someone and say,
I understand what you're going through.
Specially in this rain right now
where your shoes and everything is just a mess. (laughs)
So, something very powerful that was shared with me
as just a quick example
of I know somebody was there for me
in a time that I was really scared.
I didn't show it online but I did show the important part
of just knowing that someone was there for me,
that I felt like I wasn't alone in my struggles,
not just my accomplishments.
So I leave this quote for you all to kind of chew on
and to think about what you can do better
to help our campus experience empathy.
Thank you.
(audience applauding)