Watching, not helping: the danger of the bystander effect

Today, it’s easy to imagine someone needing help while bystanders simply record the scene for social media—a troubling example of the bystander effect. Although it may seem tied to modern online behavior, the phenomenon originated long before social media, traced back to a 1964 case in which a woman was attacked while 38 witnesses failed to intervene. This incident sparked research into why people hesitate to help during emergencies, leading to the term “bystander effect.”