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> Technology amplifies our nature. It is a neutral force. Being mindful and having empathy are not just good habits but foundational to being healthy and happy in the 21st century.

But does technology amplify mindfulness and empathy?

It seems to me that technology is a one-sided amplifier. It only amplifies the aspects that are, in the end, profitable for big companies.

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are we mindful and emphatic by nature?

Some people are mindful and/or empathetic, and it's not inconceivable that more people would be if society/technology/whatever was more encouraging of it.

"By nature" is not a useful qualifier here. Maybe it's nature, maybe it's nurture; either way, I for one think it would be better if more people were "mindful and empathetic", regardless of whether you attribute that gain to societal encouragement or the removal of societal discouragement.

Most people, left to their own devices, yes - in the small. It gets problematic in the large.

> Most people, left to their own devices, yes - in the small.

As long as people are part of the same tribe. Plenty of small communities who aren't terribly empathetic to outsiders, minorities or foreigners.

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