> how can you ever have empathy with others if you refuse to appreciate the suffering of anybody but yourself and what immediately affects you?
Anecdotally, I have not observed an increase in empathy from people who immerse themselves in negative news about faraway places. There's sometimes an increase in the performance of empathy—you'll see them bemoan the various crises, you'll see them wonder aloud how anyone can go about their lives while ${STUFF} is happening—but I haven't observed an increase in their ability to actually be empathetic to the perspectives and needs of people closer to home.
If anything it's the opposite: the more immersed someone is in tragedies and crises on the other side of the planet, the more aggressive and thoughtless they are in response to hot topics locally. Instead of slowing down and developing empathy for those who disagree with them, they lash out. It's like being immersed in extreme crises they can't control causes them to perceive their local crises as more severe than they actually are and triggers fight or flight, which actually stands in the way of empathy.
Dunbar's Number[1] could potentially be playing a role. When you're already so preoccupied caring about people on the other side of the planet, you literally have no cares left to give around you.
What you are suggesting is that there is a locality dimension here which is interesting and probably points to an important consideration.
Even the follow up insight about agency and that the problem is we feel less able to solve these things is good.
But I think that an over-emphasis on local events makes one less able to understand and deal with the things in their own lives as well. It leads to a sort of purposeful ignorance where we don't want to learn what is going on in the world so we are surprised when the consequences become relevant to us.
If you don't know whats going on in Ukraine, you're going to be confused when your local Ukrainian friend is upset because a family member got killed
Anecdotally, I have not observed an increase in empathy from people who immerse themselves in negative news about faraway places. There's sometimes an increase in the performance of empathy—you'll see them bemoan the various crises, you'll see them wonder aloud how anyone can go about their lives while ${STUFF} is happening—but I haven't observed an increase in their ability to actually be empathetic to the perspectives and needs of people closer to home.
If anything it's the opposite: the more immersed someone is in tragedies and crises on the other side of the planet, the more aggressive and thoughtless they are in response to hot topics locally. Instead of slowing down and developing empathy for those who disagree with them, they lash out. It's like being immersed in extreme crises they can't control causes them to perceive their local crises as more severe than they actually are and triggers fight or flight, which actually stands in the way of empathy.