The True Crime Fascination 

Morbid curiosity. On some level, we’re all guilty of it. You drive past a car crash and you’re watching to see if you can catch a glimpse of anything, you see a taped off crime scene swarming with cops and you walk a little slower past it, you watch a horror movie and cringe at the gore but still keep watching, all because you want to know what’s happening. Today, one of the most popular ways a person can entertain that morbid curiosity is through all of the true crime content that’s out there. True crime has a lot of us trapped in its tempting little claws, but why? 

True crime encapsulates a lot more of the media today than in the past; podcasts, movies, documentaries, series, books, and so much more. With the expansion of media and its accessibility, things are a lot easier to come by than what there would have been a few years or decades ago. Because of this, true crime content has slowly weaved its way deeper and deeper into our lives, surrounding the fringes of the content we consume on a daily basis.

Fanatics and their statistics 

If you’re not a dedicated true crime fan, the statistics of just how much true crime content people consume may shock you. It might not stand out from the amount of content consumed in other fields such as regular social media platforms, but when you consider the things that get included in the crime genre, it’s still a lot. 

On average, older fans of the content will consume just under four hours a week, while younger generations such as Gen Z are consuming almost five hours a week over different platforms where it’s available. Spanning the United States, you’ll find almost 250 million dedicated fans of the content, with just over forty percent of the country’s population (that are over the age of thirteen) listening to it through podcast mediums. For just the U.S, that’s a lot of people, so consider what the number would be if we looked globally. 

From Public Hangings to Spotify Podcasts 

Even though some might see it as such, true crime is not one of the more recent forms of popular culture that’s only started to appear. The roots of this kind of content go all the way back to around the 16th century, when details around criminal cases, current crime, and information about executions would be printed into pamphlets. When public execution was still an occurring event, many people would flock to the site to watch, letting their internal morbid curiosity get the better of them. True crime picked up a little throughout the 19th century, produced mainly through newspapers. This was somewhat spurred on by the peak of crime that followed into the 20th century. As a result of elevated criminal events, there was more to report on, and therefore more content was able to be produced and consumed. 

The expansion of social media in recent years has only added to people’s ability to access content. True crime podcasts are wildly popular, and along with other mediums where this content can be shared, the genre has quickly gained a bigger voice and audience.  

So, What’s The Big Deal? 

Why do people love true crime so much? There’s been countless studies on the topic looking at it from a range of different viewpoints, and many conclusions have been drawn about why it’s such a popular form of popular culture to consume given the content involved. 

There’s a kind of thrill, a certain sensation that comes with the plot twists and revelations of a criminal case. Along with emotions such as horror, fear, and shock, the consumption of true crime has been linked to the production of several hormones in the body like dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline. Having a rush of these hormones from consuming content enables people to experience them in a safer and more controlled situation as opposed to other ways that those hormones can be stimulated. As most of this kind of content is graphic, violent, and daunting, it’s also a way for people to explore their fears around those emotions without confronting them directly or in a dangerous sense. This produces a sense of control over the things that we can experience, and as well as this, consuming true crime content can lead people to feel more ‘prepared’ if anything similar to the criminal cases they consumed were to happen to them.  

Another reason that’s been explored about the fascination with true crime is that people are curious about the extent of human capabilities. Arguably, every person has a dark side that, when pushed far enough, they could access, and crime content enables us to explore more about what it means for a person to be pushed that far. Since the majority of society is law-abiding, the possibility of getting a look into the minds of those who aren’t is something that, again, sparks that morbid curiosity. This curiosity has a craving to know what would drive a human being to commit a heinous act, a desire to understand something that is foreign to a ‘normal’ person. A criminal case is somewhat like a big puzzle, and to a consumer of true crime, they like lto have all of the pieces put into place one by one, to understand all of the aspects, the process, ending with a satisfying conclusion where the bad person goes to jail and the good person prevails.  

Of course, this isn’t always the result considering the number of unsolved and cold cases, and these often leave people with a sense of unease and unfinished business. However, in the sense of the cases that are solved and have an ending that’s completely tied up, people are able to preserve their belief in the system of justice that controls the society around them. There’s always been a certain need for a ‘happy ending’ in any kind of narrative, and true crime is no different. When we hear about a case where a criminal has been caught and convicted for their crimes, it prompts a sense of security and safety, and consequently makes the justice system appear to be a sound and robust process.  

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much? 

True crime is a heavy topic, full of gore, injustice, and a lot of other aspects that could keep a person up at night. With the amount of content that’s available to be consumed, it draws into question if it has any influence on the people who regularly do so. Overexposure to true crime – or anything also in that genre – leads to people being desensitised and could even cause mental effects. Overconsumption of the topic can lead to paranoia and anxiety, and when taking the violent nature of the content into account, could also lead to a blur between what a person is consuming through true crime and the life they’re currently living. 

I’m just saying; consume responsibly.