Can fake empathy peddle fake news?
There are URGENT signs that humans are in an eventual process of burying empathy. And we are not talking about narcissists calling it unnecessary, irrational, or draining. We are talking about pseudo-sympathy who fake it and post it every day.
Regular posts of “I support the #cause” are what normalizes a generic “support” with no cognitive empathy whatsoever.
And mind you, they are growing in numbers!
While the problem might just be the individualism movement, it seems that people are somehow drawn to toxic behaviors. Academia, unfortunately, is also a raging war against empathy. From self-interest-driven manipulative politics to a refusal the acceptance of empathy as a true emotion, projecting positivity out in the world looks like nothing more than projective self-involvement and narcissism passed as caring.
What does this mean? Is there really no humanity left? Do we really not feel the urge to make this world a better place?
Looking from the lenses of a therapist, emotions are a part of human response. But that still doesn’t rationalize empathy. The cognitive desire to feel for others and act accordingly is NOT selfish. Gathering the courage and speaking up for others at the cost of self-depreciation is NOT egocentric.
We do not want to cultivate a world that puts empathetic people behind bars while supposedly logical people fall into the trap of fake sympathy.
Why is Fake Empathy so hot?
Fake sympathy stems from the desire to be accepted among the masses and it mostly resides among the people in the form of a defense mechanism against the collective judgment of society and its people. It is growing day by day and spreading into various branches. From influencers and social work leaders posting inflammatory content for social media reach to Gen Z agreeing with violence and self-destruction in the name of revolution, fake empathy takes shelter in every mind.
Fake empathy is the ability to pretend to give a shit. What’s the goal of having one? Acceptance among the masses. Does it come with a cost? Hell yeah!
Fake Empathy and Fake News – the Catalysts to Hate Mongering
The loneliness epidemic is spreading. How many times do you approach a stranger because you are genuinely interested? Do you even want to help a random person or are you doing it because your friends are around?
People are only interested in working for a cause when the entire world seems to be talking about it. This need to feel validated takes people to crazy places. One might completely ignore the injustice around them just to gain the confidence of their social group. Selective outrage polarizes the society into polarized groups, each with a separate set of propaganda.
Defending propaganda in groups is much easier as compared to standing alone in a crowd. This has resulted in increased cases of cyberbullying, harassment, doxing, and the spreading of inaccurate, adulterated, and unsolicited information among the masses.
The impact is insane as the world is getting closer to the possibility of wars every single day.
The solution?
Fighting Fake News and Working for a Cause
The world has become a group of pleasers without ownership with activism becoming a marketing tool and activists as content marketers. When people try to be more radical, remaining truthful becomes impossible. It results in a collective boycott of things that we might want to support (and vice versa).
How to break out of it?
Bring your inner empath out. Be the real leaders the world needs, the young leaders this society deserves.
Working for a good cause does not always require groups. If you can shout out loud enough, you will be heard. When you will be heard time and again, you will be taken seriously!
The Long-awaited Revolution in Activism
There’s no point in only talking and doing nothing. From making a change to fighting fake news, saving lives from wars, discarding fake empathy and its peddlers, and being a team of real leaders- you have to be brave enough for the humiliation, challenges, and moments of self-realization that might be thrown at you. Do you think you can make a change? Does working for a good cause excite you? Join our hands today. Drop us a hi, and we will get in touch with you!
“To perceive is to suffer.” ― Aristotle
Don’t demonize the suffering, look at the results of filling the gaps of empathy with kindness.
