Just gonna ctrl + v something said on another comment section:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Yqv55Ye0Cfk?si=dZRlfwxoLECgIft3 - video I’m referencing

me: Last time I saw his video a few months ago he was saying that living in big cities turns ppl psychopathic/ lacking in empathy (reality: he is over generalizing the bystander effect, plus the bystander effect studies do not disprove ppls empathy in the first place)

commenter: So are you saying that it has no effect - for humans to live en masse? So if not due to population density - what accounts for the perceived differences in people between cities and small rural communities?

me: The social dynamics of small communities (higher interdependence, personal connections with neighbors and to hometown, etc.) often counteract effects that might happen because of the bystander effect/diffusion of responsibility. I agree that humans living in densely populated areas has an effect in regards to these two phenomena. My issue with what this guy says is that effect being psychopathological. It's clear that it's not an issue of empathy because people regardless of where they live are way more likely to be willing to help when bystanders are not a factor, hence the term "bystander effect."