The Bystander Effect vs. The Good Samaritan Effect

There is an anomaly called the bystander effect, where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when there are other people present; the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that one of them will help. So it can actually be more dangerous to be injured in a busy train station than out in the woods. The bystander effect is such a powerful psychological phenomena that many states and countries have enacted laws to counteract this. The Good Samaritan laws were created to encourage people to step up and help someone who is in trouble. It is seen as our ethical, moral and legal obligation to help when we are able to. Failure to do so can result in fines, lawsuits or in extreme cases, jail time. Sadly, many people in modern society spend so much time staring at screens, that they have become detached from reality. When conflict arises, many people’s first reaction is to whip out their phones and record a tragedy unfold. And these tragedies are uploaded to the web for everyone on ea