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Schrödinger's Cat and Digital Empathy: How Primary School Children Understand and Respond to Others' Feelings in Online Spaces.

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Title: Schrödinger's Cat and Digital Empathy: How Primary School Children Understand and Respond to Others' Feelings in Online Spaces.
Authors: O'Reilly, Michelle (AUTHOR), Levine, Diane (AUTHOR), Adams, Sarah (AUTHOR), Batchelor, Rachel (AUTHOR), Sinclair, Neil (AUTHOR)
Source: Children & Society. May2026, Vol. 40 Issue 3, p417-426. 10p.
Subjects: Empathy, Digital technology, Elementary schools, Qualitative research, Research funding, Internet, Emotions, Thematic analysis, Research, Interpersonal relations, Child behavior, Children
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
Abstract: Children's digital and physical worlds are increasingly entwined as they build and manage meaningful connections online. Central to this is digital empathy and responsible online conduct, that is, a digital ethics of care. We focus on 10–11‐year‐old children from a primary school in the UK, exploring how they conceptualise and understand the feelings and behaviours of others. Children interviewed each other in pairs (N = 18) following school‐based education regarding interviewing skills. Thematic analysis illustrated three themes related to digital empathy and interpretation focused on the discussion of an imaginary experiment of Schrödinger's cat, as an analogy for digital empathy. This analogy encompassed a finding that in digital environments, consequences of negative behaviours for others are challenging to discern, in terms of effect and affect. The findings have implications for our understanding of digital empathy and the challenge of teaching children responsible conduct online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Children & Society is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Children's digital and physical worlds are increasingly entwined as they build and manage meaningful connections online. Central to this is digital empathy and responsible online conduct, that is, a digital ethics of care. We focus on 10–11‐year‐old children from a primary school in the UK, exploring how they conceptualise and understand the feelings and behaviours of others. Children interviewed each other in pairs (N = 18) following school‐based education regarding interviewing skills. Thematic analysis illustrated three themes related to digital empathy and interpretation focused on the discussion of an imaginary experiment of Schrödinger's cat, as an analogy for digital empathy. This analogy encompassed a finding that in digital environments, consequences of negative behaviours for others are challenging to discern, in terms of effect and affect. The findings have implications for our understanding of digital empathy and the challenge of teaching children responsible conduct online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Children & Society is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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              Text: May2026
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