In the last emergencies related to Turrialba volcano eruptions or the hitting of hurricane Otto, alerts, audios and messages have been sent via WhatsApp or social networks, in which more tragic situations are predicted, even worse than those confirmed by the authorities.
Doctor Antonio Sanabria, psychiatrist at the National Psychiatric Hospital, explained that a general diagnosis cannot be conducted, but in the first instance, if people responsible for the messages do not have any mental problems, then there is a lack of empathy regarding other people’s pain or some personality disorder.
On the other hand, sociologist Arnoldo Mendoza explained that this problem responds to a generalized “social insensitivity”: people have slowly followed that “trend” because society has accustomed them to see other people’s pain as something that do not affect them.
While for some people the tragedy is a reason to be united, others see the opportunity to be the center of the attention.
It is a narcissistic pursuit of that protagonism, an exaggerated individualism. The issue is that it is necessary to counteract all of this if we want to develop as a united, supportive and sympathetic society, where cooperation and solidarity are the basis of human coexistence,”
concluded the sociologist.