Features of Cognitive and Affective Empathy among Young People in Digital Immersion Contexts

This article examines features of cognitive and affective empathy components – specifically decentration, emotional contagion, empathic concern, and personal distress – among students with varying degrees of digital immersion. The aim of the study is to investigate the influence of digital environment on empathy expression. Empirical findings revealed that the majority of young adults are actively engaged in the digital environment (93 % of the total sample of 261 individuals). Using the contrast groups method, significant differences were identified solely in the empathy component of emotional contagion (in both offline and online interactions). Regression analysis indicated that digital immersion does not exhibit a linear relationship with empathy manifestations in either direct or mediated interaction contexts. Correlation analysis revealed significant associations between components of cognitive and affective empathy in both interaction modalities. This supports a preliminary conclusion that contemporary young adults, leveraging flexibility in choosing communication channels, effectively comprehend interlocutors’ emotional states and demonstrate empathic capacity even when nonverbal cues are limited in online interactions.