Why do you smile when you hear bad news?

I believe we smile involuntarily because our lives can be fairly mundane - and void of very strong emotions, which we subconsciously crave.

When someone tells us bad news, for a moment we are happy to be feeling something. For a moment it makes us feel alive and connected.

Personally, if something has happened to someone very close to me, a parent, close friend or pet, my response is more physiological and I really feel the bad news in my heart with immediate shock and disbelief. But if the news if about someone who I'm not intimately connected with - that is the time an inappropriate smile may creep across my face. I don't like the feeling/reaction, but I believe it's just my yearning to feel real emotion.