Whether it’s a TV show or people in your real life, why do we feel that sensation of second hand embarrassment watching others say or do specific things?
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Empathy is a hell of a drug. We’re all hardwired to be bleeding hearts. Some people get it beaten out of them because the world is cruel but most of us care for our fellow man.
Because second hand embarrassment is good thing in a society.
If you feel embarrassed because Caveman Dan can’t throw a spear and hit a thing if his life depended on it, then you might help him but also you will take care that your offspring isn’t as shit as Caveman Dan.
It is an emotion closely linked to empathy.
While the emotion itself plays/played an important role in societies, keep in mind that **what** you feel (second hand) embarrassment **about** is a social construct and in our current society often not/less beneficial.
Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that respond equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action. These are responsible for that feeling.
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