[Dewie]

The human mind is so great that it came up with all modern society, and so irrational that it chooses to be miserable about people dying of famine and in wars on the other side of the world when there is nothing that the person can do about it and his life is devoid of any remotely immediate tragedies. What is wrong about ignoring (really, not so much ignore as simply not watching the news) things that you will do nothing about (most people will only help the proverbial children in Africa for the odd fundraiser) anyway, and instead focus on the fact that you are living a life that is much more pleasant and prosperous than what the news chooses to focus on? Ignorance truly is bliss.

[konstruktor]

Are you sure the people on the other side of the world, living in famine, also consider your ignorance bliss? What is more irrational: Choosing to ignore grave suffering that we have the resources to end, many times over, for the sake of avoiding bad feelings, or at least acknowledging the suffering of others? I think the latter is an essential step in bringing modern society to a state that can truly be called civilised.

[Dewie]

I was specifically talking about people that wallow in the idea of suffering of others, while doing nothing about it. "Acknowledging" without actions helps no one. By consuming a lot of the fear inducing news, people are acknowledging the suffering of such a large amount of people, by such diverse groups, that they have absolutely no hope of making a meaningful impact on the suffering of all those groups. But instead of researching a particular problem (anything from the local homeless shelter to mosquito nets in central Africa) and giving something like a tithe of their income to that cause, additionally getting a little involved to make sure their money and efforts make an impact, most people would rather shake their heads and "raise awareness" on social media, and still have to have people literally coming to their front doors to socially cajole people into giving them money (because apparently all that 'awareness' that they got through the news weren't enough to get them to donate solely by their own accord).