Compassion fatigue is a prevalent issue that arises due to the overwhelming amount of empathy demanded by the constant influx of distressing news on the internet. A recent study delves into the impact of online interactions on human morality, shedding light on how fundamental human responses like compassion and the inclination to punish are distorted in the digital realm.

The internet, with its ceaseless barrage of extreme stimuli, contributes to compassion fatigue, public shaming, and virtue signaling. In this virtual environment, empathy is strained to its limits, and dispensing punishment comes at no cost, leading to a distorted sense of morality.

Key Findings:

• The internet inundates individuals with distressing news, leading to compassion fatigue.
• Online platforms facilitate widespread public shaming through easily accessible punishment mechanisms.
• Experts advocate for further research on platform design to alleviate the negative consequences.

In a comprehensive review, Claire Robertson and a team of researchers examine how human morality, which has evolved within small face-to-face communities, operates in the digital realm inhabited by over five billion users.

The authors posit that ingrained human responses, such as compassion for the afflicted and the desire to penalize wrongdoers, function differently online. The internet exposes users to an abundance of morally charged content, including 24/7 news coverage and deliberately provocative material from distant locations.

This oversaturation of morally significant stimuli has led to compassion fatigue, public shaming, ineffective collective action, and virtue signaling among internet users. The strain on empathy due to the constant exposure to distressing information contributes to compassion fatigue, while the ease of meting out punishment online fuels public shaming.

Online platforms have made it effortless for large numbers of individuals to partake in the human tendency to punish transgressors, a behavior believed to have evolved as a means of maintaining social cohesion in small groups. Posting condemnations online requires minimal effort, making it a popular method for signaling moral righteousness and group affiliation.

In some cases, genuine assistance may be substituted by superficial displays of compassion, such as liking or sharing a post, which offer little tangible help but provide individuals with a sense of fulfilling their moral obligations. Furthermore, the simplicity of organizing online fosters the emergence of transient social movements with superficial foundations and limited longevity.

The researchers advocate for investigations into platform design features that can sustain user engagement without eliciting detrimental effects on individuals and society. They also emphasize the importance of enhancing public access to platform algorithms to facilitate further research in this area.