Is empathy overrated? Most people will immediately say no that empathy is not overrated, but is it? I believe empathy can be used in the wrong ways and people tend to sometimes fish for empathy in other people. For example, people sharing personal stories of challenges to evoke sympathy and understanding. As a college student, every day I meet so many new people and have so many interactions. I’ve noticed with a few of these interactions people will throw their hardships on me trying to make me feel bad for them. This can get confusing because I am thrown in an uncomfortable situation that if I don’t show the empathy they are fishing for, I won’t manage a relationship that is lacking now being in college. I found myself connecting with Blooms arguments in his text “is empathy overrated” and in the DFW’s “This is Water” speech. While in blooms writing, he expresses very valid concerns about empathy and how far you can take it and the bad it could cause, while DFW gives an alternative, not as direct as for he never mentions empathy, but from a certain viewpoint, perspective can enlighten our understandings of everyday human connections and finding good in the bad.
