Where has the empathy gone?

The common practice of the immigration authorities in Bavaria made the Esselsbach pastor (district Main-Spessart) Alexander Eckert stunned. He turned to this editorial team “with a bad case which, in my opinion, hits the bottom out of the barrel of humanity”. The editors took up the story of the young family who lives in Würzburg. It’s about a 21-year-old Afghan who, despite his three-month-old child with a German citizen, is obliged to leave the country.

The topic was discussed lively and controversially on Facebook – there were over 400 comments. From “I like to help with packing”, an ironic “Have a good trip” to “Fictitious marriage is punishable” to the statement that small children are pushed forward and “then the tear gland of the merciful one runs” or the suggestion that all three should follow up together Emigrate to Afghanistan.

Discuss controversy, but why with such harshness and indifference towards other people? Other readers also agreed and commented on this callousness in horror. We asked communication psychologist Markus Appel why more and more people are expressing themselves worthlessly about others online, whether this is a social phenomenon of our time, and why it is easier to express one’s opinion on social media. Professor Dr. Markus Appel heads the chair for communication psychology and new media at the University of Würzburg.

Question: How can it be that, as in the example above, people on the Internet express themselves so unworthily and without any empathy about people?

Professor Dr. Markus Appel: In general, there are topics that generate more reactions than others. Corona, for example, is one of the topics that are discussed a lot and controversially. Refugee policy is also a dominant and still much discussed topic. Since the refugee movement in 2015, no other has heated people’s minds as much as the subject of refugees and migration, which is also very controversial. Many people work with us for refugees in everyday life and support them on a voluntary basis, but there are also many who have found the government’s actions to be completely wrong.

And how do you explain the impression that inhuman comments on social media are increasing significantly?

Call: There are several reasons for this: One point is that there are people who have a very negative attitude towards migrants. This group may not be the majority at all, but it is a group that makes itself heard on the Internet and also via Facebook and posts a lot. In other words, if this person posts five times as much as someone else, they’ll also leave five times as much impression. The topic attracts people who are critical of migration.

The algorithms of social media also play a role: If the comment on a post is very emotional and in turn attracts a lot of comments, it moves up. The first impression gained can be strengthened because other comments that may be directed against it are initially hidden and must be clicked.

That means we don’t have to worry about our society becoming brutal?

Call: I believe that the internet creates a distance, a kind of anonymity or pseudonymity, in which people find it difficult to put themselves in the shoes of others. According to studies and reports from police stations, it is often older men who comment negatively, especially on Facebook. Apparently, they find it difficult to empathize with young families and the situation of refugees. I would not say that society is brutalizing, but on some platforms on the Internet and on some topics a “brutal discussion” takes place.

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