Not feeling bad is different to not caring. Then there is understanding, vs caring vs being nice. Also like another poster pointed out whether you are applying this to a stranger, someone you know, or your best friend or girlfriend. From what I know, most people just want understanding. Unless they are close. Then they might want comfort though the action or reaction of care, caring. or another way, what and how do you want people to care for you? If you got hit by a care would you want people to care? A stranger walking by to care? A loved one to care? Their would likely be a range of degree to your answer. You might just only hope the stranger would care enough to ring an ambulance lol
I like to consciously know all the horrible things happening in the world at any given time. If a friend tells me that his life is so terrible because his girlfriend found out he was cheating on her, I won't care. Some dude on the other side of the world just gotten by a Rhino! Probably. Stabbed first and his shoes stolen, and then eaten by a Rhino. Still, he is my friend, a dumbass, but a part of being a friend to me is by giving some sort of reaction that might aid him. Like telling him is a dumbass for thinking he was Shaggy. So I'll care a little bit there. Now if another friend's parents have an heart attack, i'll definitely care there, and show it to, to support them. They are in pan, I want them to feel better and know they have support. Likewise I can apply this attitude to a stranger. I might not care about them as much as a close friend, by nothing wrong about supporting a stranger experiencing pain and a difficult situation. In another life we could be friends, say I have a friend in another country, in a situation where she doesn't have friends around, I would almost be counting on hoping someone else with my understanding of the world might care in a similar way. So there is a difference between your initial reaction of caring and your ability to consciously care and even your ability to examine why you care when you do, and why you don't care when you do, and the differences.
Often I find a lot of people don't care unless its beneficial for themselves. Even when they care for others, its actually because of some selfish reason. I only care about that stranger of their being knocked down to the ground cause she is hot. I don't care about that old dude over there because he is old and smells funny. I care about that old dude over there knocked over cause I have an elderly dad and I know old people at his age need help getting up, I don't care about that green kid over there getting knocked down, well, cause I am a racist. etc
Altruism is actually a pretty cool and expansive thing to discuss really. Very interesting. Often many questions about whether its inherently beneficial. A lot of talk about the "altruism gene" in recent years.
Personally I sort of like caring for other people when I can. Even though in one other very real I might not actually care, because by comparison there are bigger and greater things to care about. Still caring about small things and moments and strangers and best friends. Eh why not? Though for me, this is as much as a learned perspective as much as it is inherent.
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