Craigslist Joe

Is technology today bringing society closer together, or is it distancing society apart?  In the

Craigslist Joe 

film Craigslist Joe, Joe displays that one can live off the kindness of others through technology.  He does an experiment on whether he could survive for a month by only using craigslist Joe to get food and shelter.  The question to be asked is that, “are we at a place in our society with technology and the internet, websites, and human interaction where we can take care of each other”(Craigslist Joe)?  Joe goes on to conclude that society can take care of each other because of empathy.  Empathy is the ability for a person to feel what someone else is going through, even if that someone is a complete stranger.  In the Empathic Civilization Ted Talk video, Jeremy Rifkin says “Empathy is grounded in the acknowledge of death and the celebration of life”(Empathic Civilization).  Empathy would not exist in a perfect utopia, their needs to be suffering or mortality for people to empathize for each other.  People saw Joe in a state of need and could empathize for him by giving him food or shelter.  Research on empathy shows that empathy is built into human nature by mirror neurons.  Jeremy Rifkin says, “we are actually soft wired not for aggression and violence and self-interest and utilitarianism that we are actually soft wired for sociability, attachment, as john Bowlby might have said, affection, companionship and that the first drive is the drive to actually belong-it’s an empathic drive”(Empathic Civilization).  This shows that humans are programmed to help each other survive.  Empathy can now be felt by anyone by just watching a television, a video, or looking at picture.  The advancement of technology has given more opportunities for people to empathize for others, bringing

Empathy 

society closer together then ever before.

           

Technology gives access to bring society closer together, but does it actually help bond different

Community 

communities?  People separate themselves from one another due to their religion, skin color, point of view, etc.  Does the Internet or social media act as a helpful medium to communicate across these separations?  Joe says, “Some say we have lost the sense of community that used to carry us through times”(Craigslist Joe).  New forms of communication through the advancement of technology may have decreased the amount of interpersonal communication, but it has given more mediums that allow people to communicate around the world.  Technology today can connect someone in the US to some one in China with a click of a button.  Communities or organizations should be able to use this technology to grow and negotiate with other communities.  The more people stay connected with each other, the more people can empathize with each other.  In the Empathic Civilization, Jeremy Rifkin says, “But if we have gone from empathy in blood ties to empathy in religious associational ties to empathy based on national identification, is it really a big stretch to imagine the new technologies allowing us to connect our empathy to the human race within a large, single biosphere”(Empathic Civilization).  People naturally categorize themselves with others to form connections or bonds. Technology gives the potential for bonds to be created or started without physically being next the person.  Joe is able to survive a month with only using craigslist because of the bonds he made with people through technology.  “The most inspiring experience of my life…The generosity of people and the stories they share and the connections I’ve made in one month is so deep”(Craigslist Joe).  Joe meets all kinds of people from different cultures and communities and is able to connect with all of them, even though he is much different.  Technology is the future of communications and connections between communities around the world. 

communication