Wouldn’t COVID naturally have decreased empathy, not increased it?

We have this grand narrative in some circles that COVID will change everything about friendships and relationships, and make them more powerful. These circles tend to include television commercials, thought pieces on sites like this, and talk shows. It makes sense on face that COVID would help drive up empathy, because if you lost access to a loved one for a year or so (we’ve seen those videos), you might begin to think “Oh, this stuff is what really matters. I need to focus my time and energy there.” That would be a boon for empathy. Makes sense, right?

But think a bit about logistics. For many people in 2020 and into 2021, they spent essentially all their time with specific loved ones, neighbors, and maybe a few co-workers. That was their entire “bubble,” which in many cases was family + people already like them. You want to talk about polarization and division in 2020? We can do that, but you need to realize that we had a Presidential election with two old dudes with flaws (a), we had a pandemic with questionable data and misinformation flying everywhere (b), and people were mostly spending time with — if anyone — people already close to them (c, or 3). That means your access to outside perspectives was extremely limited. Most people I personally know simply doubled-down on their families. They thought about themselves and their…