‘War is what happens when…’ we look away and forget

According to a Bloomberg study published on 11 April, internet search interest in Ukraine has dropped to levels last seen in early January, roughly six weeks before Russia launched its invasion.

Despite the fact that the battle has been brutal and dramatic since day one, on February 24, the world appears to have progressively lost interest in it.

The hypothesis is that Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s nuclear threats, as well as the March 1 attack on the Zaporizhzhia power facility in southern Ukraine, sparked fears of a nuclear war.

But that fear appears to have subsided.

Furthermore, according to the article, there was an early expectation that the capital, Kyiv, would fall within days and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be deposed, indicating a resounding triumph for the Russians.

That, too, has not occurred. Ukrainian forces have driven Russian troops out of suburban Kyiv, and Russia appears to have narrowed its emphasis to the country’s east.

The Bloomberg analysis, while focusing on external elements, does not address the role of human nature in explaining why the world is not following the conflict as closely as it did two months ago.

What is news fatigue?

In a 2019 pre-pandemic survey of 12,000 American adults conducted by the Pew Research Center, 66 percent admitted to being worn out by the sheer volume of news available to them. News weariness can manifest as a desire to consume less news in order to keep and safeguard one’s mental health. 

Why are we experiencing news fatigue?

The planet is in a bad way. It’s flooding and on fire at the same time (and getting worse). Children’s graves continue to be discovered at residential schools. The third year of a global pandemic has begun. There are conflicts all across the world, and millions of people are fleeing their homes. A food catastrophe is imminent. Humanity is “unprepared for the impacts of climate change,” according to the report.

Ukraine’s visuals are scary and relentless. There are numerous wrecked hospitals, residences, and schools. People are bereaved and fleeing their homes and lives. 

So the daily battle becomes: Do we continue to highlight the devastation of a conflict with no end in sight, or do we strive to locate slivers of hope?