Do People Generally Enjoy Other Peoples Misfortunes?

[bluefortress]

If people generally don't like to see others suffer or be disadvanted, then how  come bad news sells the most and we enjoy watching bad events unfold in movies? (to an extent of course, as some scenes are very sad)

[Clone]

Well, to be honest, I'm enjoying the leftie meltdown videos.

[david small]

I hate to see anyone fall over, especially onto concrete.

[Canary42]

To be honest I'm enjoying the Rightie's rejection rage.

[Clone]

Great retort, Canary but falls down a bit as you have whinged more about Starmer than I have.😂

[nicebloke1]

Its called gloating and smugness. Sadly enjoying another ones downfall.

[Ellipsis]

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude#Psychological_causes 

[barry1010]

Bad news that doesn't effect us can remind us to count our blessings. Many people react positively, contributing to appeals for help, financial and/or practical.

In drama, nearly always there is a good outcome - the baddie gets caught, someone is rescued, the goodie is victorious.

It was the cockles of my heart that in 2009 the people of Iceland (a country in crisis at the time) sent 3000 jumpers to British pensioners because they had heard many would freeze to death that winter.

https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/winter-woolly-lifeline-icelanders-donate-sweaters-to-chilly-british-pensioners-a-604518.html

 

[Old_Geezer]

In reality most folk don't like to see others suffer, but there are going to be exceptions as the variety of human behaviour is wide.

But staged misfortunes and jokes are different and don't raise the same feelings of sympathy and/or empathy.

The same can be said of minor misfortunes too, where an individual isn't much hurt, except their pride maybe, and one can chuckle at the predicament without feeling too much guilt at doing so.

[barry1010]

I must admit that this clip always makes me laugh

[zebo]

//Its called gloating and smugness. Sadly enjoying another ones downfall.//

 

Isn't it called Schadenfreude?  When my husband laughed at someone's misfortune a German friend said 'You'd make a good German!'.