People are often more attracted to the gruesome than to positive experiences. There's a reason why media coverage focusing on negative events gets more coverage, and why true crime shows are so popular. When viewing violent or dangerous events, people often feel compelled to keep looking rather than turn away. Dr. John Mayer, a clinical psychologist, places the reason as part of the survival instinct: "This acts as a preventive mechanism to give us information on the dangers to avoid and to flee from." Naturally, when something potentially disastrous occurs right in front of us, the first response is to find out more so that we can avoid the danger. It's a sense of morbid curiosity, where information about danger is balanced with the unpleasantness of viewing it. It's a balance of learning more about danger to avoid death and dealing with the graphicness of such danger. Even when we aren't confronted with danger directly, seeing what happens when facing destruction gives people a chance to confront their fears in a safe environment. This is why people are so drawn to violence even when it's occurring through the distance of a screen. With this distance, there would still be somewhat of a survival mechanism, but less so considering people can quickly recognize that they are not actually in danger. Rather, the distance gives people a chance to confront the reality of death without directly experiencing it. It gives you a chance to think about what you would do in that situation, whether you would be able to survive or not. It is also still a function of learning about danger, a way to glean more knowledge about how to avoid it yourself.
More Links:
Dr. John Mayer interview: https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/science-behind-why-we-can-t-look-away-disasters-ncna804966
Psychology Today - Interest in Crime: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/decoding-madness/202109/why-are-we-so-interested-in-crime-stories
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