Images of war and suffering would historically prompt protests in the streets rather where today an succulent endless loop proves distressing headlines to be rather inconvenient, slowly instilling apathy within the onlookers. In a seemingly post apocalyptic world where dopamine hits slowly numb the mind, makes it incoherent and dependent enough to only know to demand more. So much pain inflicted upon so many with such glee as the sheltered, the liberated are found simply too numb to bat an eye. After all, what better way to silence something than to simply deny it heed. Detachment is an easy achievement compared to empathy that proves to be demanding.  

The images presented to stir compassion becomes home to normalisation of tragedies. The exposure to a repetitive cycle of tragedies, calls to action and wrongfully done people slowly gnaws at the concept of individual suffering and feeds the agenda of the higher ups – mass apathy. The time spent looking away becomes an inadvertent sigh of relief from the sights so tragically averting that the enemy becomes the crime instead of the criminal. The weight of the images takes a toll on the eyes that is easily washed away through a swift move of the finger; which it becomes fond of. 

While the normalisation of suffering clouds global empathy, it also fractures the foundation of personal connections. Endless exposure dulls the emotional core leaving those staring, drained and unwilling to further give up empathy for problems less than those they bore witness to. Physical conversations about foreign grief become fleeting moments of internally drawn comparison often externally met with indifference. The mind overly exposed to a vast majority of pain becomes desensitized towards the individual creating cycles where expressions of empathy becomes a luxury few are acquainted with. Bonds that once thrived on mutual care are weakened as the digital world monopolises emotional capacity.

The digital realm thrives on a paradox—it connects the world while simultaneously fostering isolation. Social media platforms and news outlets profit from sensationalism, ensuring that the most shocking and distressing stories are pushed to the forefront of our feeds. This commodification of tragedy reduces suffering to fleeting headlines, stripping it of its humanity.

Algorithms curate a continuous stream of misery, interspersed with lighthearted distractions, forcing the mind to juggle the unbearable and the trivial.This interplay between exposure and distraction creates a numbing effect, where the extraordinary becomes ordinary, and action feels futile. What once would have ignited outrage or compassion is now dismissed as part of an endless cycle of bad news. The ability to disconnect at the swipe of a screen absolves responsibility, as emotional exhaustion morphs into apathy.

If apathy continues to fester unchecked, society risks devolving into a hollow collective, incapable of meaningful action or connection. In a world where suffering becomes an unremarkable backdrop, compassion may wither into an antiquated virtue, replaced by indifference as the default response. The inability to feel deeply or care collectively would erode the foundations of solidarity, leaving crises to escalate unchallenged. The normalisation of tragedy would foster a dangerous acceptance of injustice, creating a society where atrocities are met with resignation instead of resistance. Over time, this emotional void might strip humanity of its defining essence: soil is nothing but dirt if not fertilised by those who roam it.