Watching news in one country showing sufferings experienced by people in other nations do not move viewers emotionally.
Instead, news of natural calamities or conflicts relieve viewers in a sense that these did not affect them or their families, shows research.
The study by Martin Scott of the school of international development at University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, England, examined how audiences respond to British television coverage of suffering - for example as the result of disasters and conflicts.
He found that the participants were in many cases indifferent to what they saw and relieved that it did not affect them - especially the younger and male viewers.
However there were instances, mostly among older and female participants, of particularly emotional responses to suffering, said the study published in the journal Media, Culture & Society.
Documentaries and current affairs programmes prompted more emotional responses than TV news because they offered viewers a closer, more complex representation of suffering, added the study.
"If we wish to see the media playing a role in promoting solidarity between humans, then the appearance of people in other countries in programming outside of the news should be a priority. It is important to look beyond peak moments of news coverage," said Scott.
The study involved a series of focus group interviews over a three-month period with more than 100 people.
Researchers found that references to news items, for example about the conflict in Afghanistan and violence in Madagascar, prompted objective, descriptive responses rather than emotional reactions.
Documentaries, for example about violence in Gaza and the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drew more emotional responses to describe the suffering experienced by people there, said the study.
