Ojebode, A. (2004) “Empathising in Cyberspace: A Study of Empathy among Members of an Internet Group” Multidisciplinary Journal of Research Development Vol. 3, No 1; pp. 87-95.

ABSTRACT:

Scholars of interpersonal communication emphasize the central place of empathy in interpersonal relationships. They equally underscore the indispensability of non-verbal cues in empathizing. Analysts of relationships in virtual communities, however, observe that deep interpersonal relationships are forming in cyberspace, though the cyberspace severely limits the use of non-verbal cues. This study set out to investigate if effective empathizing indeed takes place in cyberspace, and the techniques used in cyberspace empathizing. To do this, an Internet group was studied over a period of twelve months using a combination of survey and content analysis methods. The study found out that effective empathizing was indeed taking place in cyberspace. This was made possible by a high degree of self-disclosure, a strict observance of netiquette and the use of some of those techniques of empathy used in offline relationships. The study underscores the need to redefine some of the theoretical assumptions that have led to ruling out the possibility of interpersonal relationships in cyberspace.