Why World News Fails to Move Us (And How It Could)

In an age where information from every corner of the globe is at our fingertips, it’s paradoxical that world news often leaves us cold. Alain de Botton’s The News: A User’s Manual explains that despite abundant coverage, foreign stories struggle to engage us because they lack relatable context. We hear about distant disasters and conflicts but rarely about the ordinary lives behind them.

This absence creates emotional distance. Without personal narratives and cultural details, foreign news becomes abstract statistics, failing to stir empathy. We find it easier to care about celebrities or local events than about people halfway across the world.

To bridge this gap, news should humanize the other by sharing sensory details, personal stories, and cultural richness. Artistic storytelling techniques—vivid imagery, narrative pacing, symbolism—can transform dry reports into moving tales that connect us to shared humanity.

Imagine a news piece that not only reports a natural disaster but also paints the vibrant everyday life of the affected community before the event, the smells, sounds, and celebrations that make them relatable. Such storytelling invites compassion rather than detachment.

By expanding our sympathies through richer narratives, world news can fulfill a vital role in fostering global understanding and solidarity.

For more perspectives, see reader discussions on Goodreads and critical reviews at Washington Independent Review of Books. 3 4