It's awkward and disturbing to me, even more so when it's displayed by an entire group. It becomes a situation that forces me to be less genuine to not make others feel uncomfortable, if not to avoid making them feel offended.
Indifference towards tragedy has a way of pissing certain people off.
If it's something I actually feel something for, like WTC, I think I basically don't notice other people much. The world from news reports had been quite calm for a while and than that happened and rattled me a little. I was busy with my own reaction to care about others'.
But if I don't feel affected like when that Malaysian airplane disappeared and everyone was like Think about the passengers, think about their families! I just felt uneasy because their showing that kind of emotion. A feeling bordering on disgust. Actually that feeling is my normal reaction to mass empathy. It feels bad and I'd rather just sneak out and not have to be close to that icky thing.
If it seems fake or overblown. Twin towers, for example. It was horrible. It was shocking to me personally and gave me some PTSD because I am from NYC. But they went WAY overboard with the coverage.
I feel things strongly , so after a while, I have to disconnect. I acknowledge when things are bad and try to help if I can, in terms of money or supplies. Then I stop.
I usually fake empathy just to blend in.
Other people's display of empathy doesn't bother me. I'm usually indifferent towards it.
The only time it annoys me is when I can't be bothered faking empathy (around certain family members), and yet they expect me to be empathic.
My brother has gotten angry at me for not showing any empathy and my daughter has gotten upset at me for not caring and asks me how I can be like that. Then I have to listen to her bitch and whine about how I'm such a horrible person and how she hopes it happens to me one day blah blah blah.