Society’s Obsession With True Crime

Throughout the Halloween season, people tend to gravitate towards media that matches the spooky spirit, often in the form of horror movies or thrillers. However, some people reach for the harsh reality of the true crime genre instead. But why are people so obsessed with this genre? 

First off, we need to look at how the culture around true crime has become so much more popular over the years. The easiest explanation is its explosion through social media. A study by Boston University media researcher Kathryn D. Coduto explains how social media has perpetuated society’s fascination with true crime. 

Coduto explains how social media platforms suck people into true crime stories, most likely due to their strong algorithms. These algorithms push the cases with the weirdest inconsistencies or the strangest pieces of evidence onto people’s feeds, creating what Coduto calls a “compulsive engagement” with the cases.

Consistently showing people these cases encourages them to keep coming back for more, often creating “parasocial relationships” with those involved in the crime, whether it’s the victim or the perpetrator. 

Being this obsessed with a true crime story, or even an active case, isn’t always good for the average person’s mental health. It’s not just a news story for them anymore, but a personal crisis they must make sure gets solved. 

Next, it’s important to acknowledge psychology’s role in society’s fixation with true crime. Jess Sherman of Rasmussen University describes four psychological reasons for this obsession: Why people commit the crimes that they do, searching for evidence of justice in society, seeking out the adrenaline of fear and learning how to be safe by observation. 

Not only do we long to understand why some people commit the monstrous crimes they do, but we are also often attracted to the intense feelings of fear and anger that these stories evoke within us. Listening to these stories on a podcast, or following along with the cases through other social media, allows us to experience these strong feelings in a controlled environment. 

Sherman also points out the demographics of true crime fans, primarily women, and how such fans learn how to protect themselves through these different cases. Director of the Media Psychology Research Center Pamela Rutledge states that, “For women, who statistically face a higher risk of violent crimes, true crime media can serve as a form of psychological rehearsal.” True crime can be a useful resource for women to learn what to look out for and how to stay safe in public. 

True crime can come in many forms, whether it’s through long-form documentaries, podcasts or a random influencer explaining a cold case on TikTok. What I have noticed most recently on social media is the resurgence of true crime through current murder trials, such as the ongoing Lindsay Clancy trial.

This case is focused on Lindsay Clancy, a mother who is charged with killing her three children while her husband, Patrick, was out of the house. Social media has taken hold of this case, with new theories and analyses of the courtroom being posted almost daily. 

Giving people this constant access to the case has only increased the depth of the parasocial relationships they are forming with Clancy. Due to her severe postpartum mental illness at the time of the killings, many people online — a lot of whom are mothers — have sympathized with Clancy and her struggles as a mom. 

This kind of closeness people believe they have with suspects like Clancy can often get in the way of the cases themselves. These interjections can occur through social media posts interfering with real-time investigations, creating biased narratives of the case on social media and shifting public opinion to something that may not even be based in reliable evidence. 

All of this being said, it can be argued whether society’s true crime obsession does more harm than good. As a small hobby or pastime for most, it’s truly just another form of harmless entertainment. However, those who are involved in the true crime community should watch to make sure it does not take over their lives and that they do not let it affect their mental health, as that is where it becomes a problem.