In recent years, a slow decline in empathy has grown, and so has awareness of concerning matters worldwide. But what is empathy, and why is it important? Empathy means you understand someone’s emotions and, to a certain extent, feel them as well. This is important because empathy keeps you engaged and encourages individuals to try and ease a person’s pain even if it is something as simple as an apology for their suffering. Without empathy, there is no differentiation between robots and man. 

Over the years, specifically starting from the peak of COVID-19 [2020], empathy has steadily declined. This may be in part due to “empathy fatigue.” Empathy fatigue is when an individual spends all of their time caring for others so that they eventually cannot anymore. This leads to them experiencing apathy for differing amounts of time. This is intensified if the individual has preexisting mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. 

While many may believe these people are monsters for feeling this apathy, it is completely normal, especially if you have spent the majority of your life consuming upsetting or negative content. However, this lack of empathy begins to create a problem when an individual does not take a step back from the media they are viewing to take time for themselves. Instead, they simply stop caring about the issue they previously advocated for. This mainly stems from a sense of hopelessness for a situation, which then morphs into a numbing empathy, and it can occur online or in one’s personal life.

 Such examples of upsetting content include seeing real people who are having their country invaded begging for help from the most powerful people and nation, America. However, when empathy fatigue sets in, this person’s suffering is so easily ignored, and their pain is only recognized for a few months before being lost in the sea of the internet. 

The recent fires in Los Angeles also stand as an example of apathy. Many people (especially on platforms like X [Formerly Twitter]) claim the suffering of those in the fires deserves it because most of the individuals are “rich like Elon Musk,” so why should they care? The issue is that most of these individuals were hardworking people who lost everything to this tragedy; even if the people affected by the fires were wealthy, it is unfair to assume they are evil and unworthy of help. 

I have seen comments of unsympathetic phrases such as “And the world kept spinning” or lengthy comments spreading hate. While it seems like a small issue because it is on the Internet, many take what they see online and can accidentally apply it to their personal lives. If these people are unaffected by what they are seeing online, they are essentially desensitized; they can also spread this hate. It is just as easy to feel a lack of empathy for a loved one as a stranger, especially with this preconceived notion that nothing matters in the world, and to let fate handle it, which is so prevalent today. Furthermore, this causes the clashing of heads against those who still strongly advocate for a topic and those who overlook it. 

Overall, empathy is incredibly important. If your empathy level is low and you find yourself slipping into apathy, take a step back and come back later. Our emotions are what separate us from robots, and it is terrifying to think of a world without care, a world full of heartless machines.