Compassion Fatigue and Social Media?
Shuyuan Liu
PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, Queen’s University
In tandem with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous social justice issues (e.g., #BlackLivesMatter) began to capture the public’s attention on the news and, more often, social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Around that time, I was working on a study that examined high school youth’s perceptions of social justice issues and use of social media to investigate these topics (see Pillay et al., 2022). I recently revisited this project and its interview transcripts. One participant caught my interest while doing so: Ignatius (pseudonym), a Grade 11 high school student, was a passionate activist and social justice advocate. During his interview, he was discussing his commitment to promoting social justice online and he expressed a sense of fatigue from social media:
Ignatius: This kind of seems ridiculous now, looking back on it. But if I don’t repost and share for every single person — ’cause first it was George Floyd, then it was Breonna Taylor. It was just person after person after person — and I felt like, if I didn’t repost for every single person, then people are going to think that I just don’t care. And it’s not that I don’t care. It’s that it gets exhausting after a while… You’re constantly in this bubble of, all these people are dying. All these people are helpless. All these people, they’re not being listened to. More people just keep getting killed. (Liu et al., 2023, p. 6)
Ignatius’s remark about exhaustion resonated with me. I — and perhaps many of us — have been in similar situations. Consider some of the sociopolitical issues that have drawn societal attention over the past few years; be it police brutality, racism, or religious injustice, people initially express compassion for those who have suffered followed by fury over inequities. As Ignatius implied, these emotions eventually quiet down on social media only to be replaced by a feeling of depletion. People’s capacity to care for others from afar seems to have peaked; they are now showing a degree of detachment from certain sociopolitical issues.
As one empathizes with underrepresented groups and their vulnerabilities over time, they may experience compassion fatigue, characterized by feelings of helplessness, distress, fear, and anger (Figley, 1995). The phenomenon was first observed occupationally among nurses who “exhibited feelings of anger and helplessness or turned off their own emotions in response to watching their patients suffering from major illnesses or trauma” (Joinson, 1992, p. 318). However, this reaction can also pervade the general population, such as netizens on social media who have switched off their emotions upon witnessing human suffering. Unfortunately for Ignatius, an expert in social justice advocacy, compassion fatigue — coupled with external or self-imposed expectations to be a “perfect” activist — appeared to have prevented him from pursuing such advocacy further. If compassion fatigue is essentially inevitable, what can be done to combat it so we can maintain our enthusiasm while experiencing as little fatigue as possible? I have found the following strategies to be helpful for alleviating compassion fatigue. These methods are rooted in detachment and self-care.
- Draw a line between your responsibilities and those of others, especially on social media. Let go of what you cannot control and concentrate on who you can influence. Be mindful that the things you release do not indicate compassion fatigue.
- As Ignatius described, whether facing pressure or being accused of not being a “perfect” activist, remember that you have done work somewhere of which others may not be aware.
- Acknowledge and contain your energy flow. Be conscious of your internal flow of “emotional energy” and the fact that you may require routine “recharging,” through physical and mental rest.
- Learn from being authentically compassionate: true compassion recharges both parties as opposed to being performative or done out of a “duty to display compassion online.”
- Provide a solution instead: This course of action has always been most effective for me. Aim to fix a problem directly (in relation to socioeconomic status, life experiences, and so on) if you have the power to do so. On social media, keep in mind that there are always activists behind the screen who are not solely posting online.
- Be grateful for others’ compassion: If you have felt genuine relief, pleasure, or hope when others have shown you compassion, be appreciative and pass on that energy.
It is also worth noting that we cannot cope with compassion fatigue on social media on our own; instead, various groups must contribute to transformation. Avenues to explore include altering the general online discourse; less surveillance on social media to encourage action; institutional support, such as through social justice education and guidance in schools; and professional emotional and wellness care. As social media is increasingly prevalent and people are voicing sociopolitical concerns via social media, all parties need to participate more responsibly.
References
Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion fatigue as secondary traumatic stress disorder: An overview. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress in those who treat the traumatised (pp. 1–20). Brunner/Mazel.
Joinson, C. (1992). Coping with compassion fatigue. Nursing, 22(4), 116–121. https://doi.org/10.1097/00152193-199204000-00035
Liu, S., Gyamerah, K., Ahn, C., & Pillay, T. (2023). Creating spaces of engagement: Exploring high school youth’s voices in reshaping the social justice curriculum [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Faculty of Education, Queen’s University.
Pillay, T., Ahn, C., Gyamerah, K., & Liu, S. (2022). Considering the role of social media: #BlackLivesMatter as a pedagogical intervention to decolonise curriculum. London Review of Education, 20(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.20.1.14
