No empathy for real persons only fictional persons

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Why don't I feel empathy for real people but only fictional characters, like in books, animes and cartoons?
Feels pretty weird to me.

IRL people don't tell you they are in pain you've to understand what they are going through

In books the author generally describes it to us

Well even not when I see a person cry I only pretend to have empathy for the person to not stand out like I'm a cold-hearted person

Thank you
Helped me alot!

Maybe this is why I grew up reading endless fiction and watching a lot of films.
I too find I can empathise a lot more with these characters than real people...in fact, I get more sad for animals and sometimes even game characters, than I do for people. I do tend to want to do something if I see someone crying but I tend to not feel that much, more a sort of panic than anything at not knowing what to do. So, I don't think you're alone.

I'm an Aspie, I have a difficult time feeling emotion at all. Except with Fictional characters, like: House, Master Chief, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Neal Caffrey, Niko Bellic, Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren & Kevin Flynn (I was depressed when he died). I am way attached to those characters. I also fake sympathy for real people but sometimes I don't know when to express concern so my siblings half joke, half criticize that I am cold.

This is me, too. I feel far more emotion watching a TV show than if the same thing happens in real life.

I don't have NO empathy for people in my life, but I feel like I definitely have more for fictional characters. I can be brought to tears by certain books or movies...I can't remember that ever happening in real life, just being so moved by someone's story.

I seem to empathize for people who have went through the same thing I have or people I like and have gone through the same thing I have. I guess I can kinda see myself in them and know what they have to go through everyday and still manage to keep a smile on their face and not give up.

I think that in IRL, you'll find a lot of people and situations that 'don't make sense'. I think characters in literature are different from people in RL because authors research people and their motives before writing a character, and IRL, people can be whimsy, irrational, irresponsible, emotionless etc., they give you no reason to like them, and you wouldn't know what their redeeming features are or what propels them to do such things because you wouldn't have any insights into their minds.

I feel empathy for animals, but not so much for humans. This cant be because any author told me how they feel, cause its my real pets. So I would assume its because their only language is their facialexpressions, some noise and body language. Which means they cant polute my impression of them with irrational words.

But still, I find it weird that I can only feel empathy with animals in the real world. And small children aswell btw, sometimes. I guess its easier to feel their pain when its mostly physical.

I got 7 of 80 points on an empathy quotient test btw.

I empathize with fictional characters so much that I've taken on my favorites as imaginary friends. My mom told me that I do this because fictional characters can't hurt me the way real people can. I think it's also an issue of control since I find that I become frustrated when the people in my life don't act the way I expect them to.

^ I'm similar with characters I make up, though it's more like the character becomes a part of me...