True Crime Obsession

I am a big fan of true crime. Whenever there is a true crime documentary or podcast that get my attentions, I usually spend times watching and listening. It's really addicted. True crime is novels, films, and podcasts that analyze real murders, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. True crime contents have a certain appeal to consumers. In a 2022 poll from YouGovAmerica, half of Americans enjoy true crime content, where Murder takes (52%), Serial killing takes (45%), kidnapping takes (37%), and organized crime takes (35%). Even 13% declared it’s their favorite. With that statistic, I asked myself "what excites us about these tragic stories?"

Source: Wix

The reason is that since ancient times, prehistoric people must always pay attention to potentially dangerous factors to survive. Gradually, this habit is "encoded" by the brain to become a reflex that keeps us safe. According to Psychology Today, negative information also makes the cerebral cortex more active, shaping our behavior. This is also why the media prioritize harmful content because they know they always have a high readership. When combined with dramatic storytelling and visual effects, true crime films attract huge audiences.

According to research leader Amanda Vicary, this is a simple way to help them analyze their current living environment, understand the characteristics of potential perpetrators, and plan prevention. Psychiatrist Sharon Packer also said that many women see consuming true crime content as a "rehearsal" in case something similar happens to them. According to criminology professor Scott Bonn, watching violent scenes can cause mild stress. As a result, the adrenal glands produce just the right amount of adrenaline to startle you and slightly amuse you. This feeling is entirely different from fear when too much adrenaline is released, causing the fight-or-flight mode to be activated. You can imagine it similar to the feeling of euphoria in an adventurous person when riding a roller coaster.

In addition, according to forensic psychologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland, the brain is "preferred" to gather information and guess what happens next. This is a common element in true crime movies when the audience can play the role of a "detective" to guess who the culprit is before the authorities find out. If they guess correctly, they get a "reward" of dopamine; if they guess wrong, it doesn't matter. Many psychologists also say that this feeling of satisfaction and relief is one of the reasons true crime attracts audiences.

According to Dr. Sharon Packer, the audience may be sad because the misfortune happened, but they are still glad that someone else carried it for them. Not only that, but they also heard experts analyze and understand the perpetrator’s motives to actively prevent the same thing from happening. In other words, they "benefit" quite a bit from a stranger’s tragedy. Not only sympathize with the victim, but many viewers also empathize with the perpetrator. This is especially true if they experience the same problems as the perpetrator. When witnessing the perpetrator commit a crime to “ retaliate” for life, the mirror nervous system makes them feel satisfied, although not directly "on the hand.”

True crime can be stressful and exciting, so it's very addictive. The "answering" nature of the cases also quickly draws you into the plot, from which to watch continuously. However, consuming too much harmful content can bring about a highly pessimistic view of the world. Therefore, you need to limit your time watching true crime movies and learn other sources of information about the case to have a multi-dimensional view.