More and more people in the world are addicted to true crime. There’s everything from TV shows to podcasts, books, movies, and many other formats. All of them talk about real crimes, usually committed by serial killers, and talk about the investigation. the lives of victims and killers and many other more or less terrible details. The popularity of such stories is so high that there are people who are beginning to worry about whether watching them incites violence. For this reason, a group of Russian scientists wanted to analyze why there are so many fans of true crime and does this entail any consequences? risk to society.
In fact, this study has several limitations. The biggest one is that it was conducted with a very small number of participants. A total of 26 young people aged 18 to 36 years. However, their results are consistent with other previous studies, so they can be taken more seriously.
The conclusion of this and other studies is that, in general, true crime fans They are not necessarily cruel people. And if this is not the case, then why do they like them so much?
Reasons for the success of true crime
In the Russian study, participants had to answer survey in which they were asked about their preferences regarding true crime: favorite shows, favorite format, what they look for in each show…
Thus, it was clear that, as a rule, participants did not seek to derive pleasure from violence. Rather, the goals were twofold. On the one hand, what the study authors describe as ontological security needs and, on the other hand, search for strong emotions.
The latter refers to the experience of a strong and clearly negative emotion, accompanied by physiological response. It’s similar to why we like horror movies. Physiological reactions are similar to those that occur when we are exposed to threat: Heart rate increases, muscles tense, endorphins are released… Everything is ready to run. Moreover, paradoxically, the brain generates a certain feeling of pleasure associated with adrenaline euphoria. This forces us to seek this sensation more often and thus we are prepared for when the danger becomes real. If we are truly afraid, then the feeling of pleasure is hidden by a feeling of danger. However, the tranquility of the sofa makes the pleasure feel much better.
The same thing happens with real crimes. In fact, this is where another reason identified through surveys comes into play. need for security. Evolutionarily, we are ready to be as attentive as possible to any threat. From a lion that could attack our ancestors to a possible murderer or rapist. In real crimes, we see the tricks of the criminals and our brain rewards us for this, preparing for a possible attack.
More common in women
A clear sign that this is a good hypothesis is another study published in 2010 that analyzed why women are more attracted to women. stories of rape, kidnapping and serial killers. They are also the main spectators of true crime. This is because female victims tend to be more common, especially when it comes to rape. But also in some cases of kidnappings and murders. Unconsciously, when we see these solved stories in which we see how the crime worked and how what happened was resolved (or not), we seek reassurance that we know how to act to prevent it.
To all this are logically added simpler factors, such as intrigue to find out what happened. It looks like a detective novel, but, unfortunately, it is based on real events.
Don’t abuse true crime
The vast majority of experts agree that there’s really no need to worry about true crime viewers becoming violent. But what can be dangerous is that some people fall into hypervigilance.
As a psychologist explained in a 2023 Cleveland Clinic article Chivonna Childs, A person who watches too much true crime may view every white van as a possible kidnapping. They may also become suspicious of everyone around them and become obsessed with the possibility of someone harming them. For this reason, this and other experts note the need to watch such programs in moderation.
If we feel like we’re going to extremes and are constantly tense and hypervigilant, it’s time to move on to a different type of genre.
Source: Hiper Textual
