Content Warning for SA, abuse and suicide
I can remember being as young as eleven and spending entire days watching Eleanor Neale, the popular true crime YouTuber, videos on YouTube back to back for hours straight. I never really knew why I found myself spending so much time watching someone tell the stories of some of the most horrific crimes that have ever occurred. But I did.
And Iâm not alone. Millions of people in Gen Z are very similar to me in that regard, but why do we love something so awful?
Understanding Why People do Bad Things
One of the most progressive things to come with Gen Z is the destigmatisation of having mental health issues. Seeking medication and therapy when youâre struggling is often celebrated nowadays for being brave and taking control, rather than being seen as something that makes you weak the way it generally was in the past.
This ties in with true crime. People want to understand bad people and why they do the things they do, rather than instantly labeling them as bad people.
Take Erik and Lyle Menendez, who killed their parents and are still in prison for it. Many Gen Zers campaign for their release, pointing to evidence that their father was incredibly abusive towards them. This shows how Gen Z is more willing to look at all of the factors when it comes to true crime cases – many feel that the relentless abuse the brothers suffered for years at the hands of their father greatly impacted their mental health and led to the murders.
True Crime vs. Social Media
Gen Z loves to have opinions online, and true crime gives us plenty to have opinions about.
In July 2026, influencer Sara Gilson who was popular for sharing relatable family-life videos, posted a popular TikTok trend in which she accused her ex-husband of being a pedophile and just days later he killed both her and himself.
This sparked discussion online about how much of your life you should share online, as well as many taking her old videos and analysing them for âred flagsâ in her ex-husbandâs behaviour. It can be argued that Gen Z loves true crime because they love the drama of it. It becomes so easy to forget that these are real people, real victims, with real families, and not just characters on a screen. People love to say how they wouldâve done things differently if it had been them in these situations, and all it does is result in a gross culture of victim-blaming, instead of celebrating the lives of those we have lost and slating the ones who took them.
True Crime as A Political tool
Gen Z is known for being an intensely politically vocal generation. With so much happening globally, Gen Z keeps informed through the use of the internet and largely social media, and true crime is often the vehicle for that.
The rape and murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by a serving Metropolitan Police Officer is a great example of Gen Z using a real crime to drive political conversation. Police corruption, misogyny, and womenâs safety at the hands of men were all hot topics in the aftermath.
It raised an uncomfortable question: how had a man capable of that crime climbed the ranks of the police force in the first place?
The Metropolitan Police’s response, suggesting women stay home at night to stay safe, sparked outrage online. People pushed back, arguing men should be the ones staying home, since they were the source of the danger. That outrage eventually reached the House of Lords, where Green Party politician Baroness Jenny Jones suggested a 6pm curfew for men, a direct, if provocative, ripple effect of Everard’s murder.
Unfortunately, despite public outrage after Sarah Everard’s murder, there has not been any large, positive changes to policing or the law in the UK, as the number of women killed by men each year since has remained steady.
Conclusion
Overall, itâs difficult to tell if Gen Zâs love of true crime comes from a good place or not, and itâs just as difficult to say exactly why we love it so much.
So next time you put on a true crime podcast, ask yourself: why do I enjoy this?
If you or someone you know is considering self-harm or experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit hotline.rainn.org.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. You can also reach out to the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or to your local suicide crisis center.