Designing Technology to Support Empathy for Rural Community

Abstract

In isolated, rural areas, people are necessarily independent and it can be difficult for them to seek help. One of the ways to improve this is to find a remotely accessible solution. Information and communication technology (ICT) can be used to eliminate distance as a barrier to social interaction, and in turn can create new optimism for rural areas when it is a device to improve interaction. The important benefit of receiving emotional support and information from others is that it encourages and increases hope. This research suggests that when collaborating virtually, the farming community can receive effective advice from experts to facilitate their decision making and at the same time to support their psychosocial health.. The user experience of the emotional expression in the discussion among community members will be highlighted. We posit that it is important that empathy and hope are included in interaction between participants, especially when ICT is used to deal with complex conversations (e.g. climate change, agricultural information).