When I was in high school, I became somewhat obsessed with true crime stories on YouTube, consuming an almost endless feed unflinchingly. I still watch the occasional video, but my reactions to true crime content have heightened since I watch it far less frequently.
In this time away from the industry, I have been forced to ask what effect my consumption of true crime media had on me, and what effect it might be having on others, particularly in terms of their sensitivity. I believe that a heavy intake of true crime media may be desensitizing audiences towards heinous crimes.
Before moving forward, I would like to clarify that I am not anti-true crime. As aforementioned, I watch videos and listen to stories from the genre from time to time. I think there is an inherent curiosity in people about the extreme, dark parts of life. My dad says people are generally “ambulance-chasers,” meaning we cannot help but be drawn to the spectacle of tragedy.
It is the same reason people look at car accidents when passing; we are curious. That was my justification when I first started consuming true crime — that I was intrigued by the psychology of it all, that I wanted to understand humanity better.
Thomas Curtsinger is a retired police commander from Lexington, Kentucky. He is also a casual enjoyer of true crime podcasts. When asked about why he thought people enjoyed this kind of media, his thoughts were similar to mine.
“People, in general, are curious about crime, about violent crime impacts on families, on communities,” Curtsinger said. “…I think it sort of draws on this need that we all have to understand ‘How does this happen? How do these people commit these crimes? Are they going to pay for it? Are they going to get caught? Are they going to get convicted?’”
Curtsinger also mentioned that this fascination is not new or specific to one particular medium.
“To some degree, it is very possible that it has [desensitized people], but then again, part of me thinks that this has been trending for decades,” said Curtsinger.
Jamie Boggs, co-host and co-producer of True Crimecast, spoke about being a part of the true-crime media industry as both a creator and consumer, sharing that his interest in the topic began early on in his life. He was attracted to the “puzzle” of it all; in essence, the same psychological wondering that Curtsinger pointed to is what intrigued Boggs.
A difference in opinion between the two occurred, however, when I asked Boggs about whether or not he felt that true crime media desensitized audiences, as well as whether it desensitized him as a creator.
“Undoubtedly, yes, to both of those,” Boggs said.
He compared it to the desensitizing of audiences over time towards mass shootings, especially in schools.
“When Columbine happened, it was like the worst thing you could think of,” Boggs said. “It’s kind of the same pattern with true crime. The more murders you hear about, the less shocking it is.”
According to Boggs, the True Crimecast staff does their best to avoid contributing to this phenomenon, focusing less on the crime itself and more on the impacts.
“For us, we are very clear that we are not investigators… We are mostly storytellers,” Boggs said. “We also purposely tone down the gory details… We are not focusing on the violent piece of it; we are more focused on the psychology of the people involved and the families, the community.”
Ultimately, the frequency with which the content is consumed appears to be the missing piece to this puzzle. A 2019 study published by Harvard Business School found that individuals consistently exposed to footage of violent crimes developed decreased levels of anxiety towards the footage as they took in more of it. Similarly, Boggs mentioned that his co-host of the True Crimecast is in social work, and is, therefore, more desensitized to discussing crimes against children because he sees them so often.
As we consume this type of media, we normalize it and can fall into the trap of being made numb to it. There is a subcategory of true crime content creators, such as Hailey Elizabeth on YouTube, who post “Get Ready With Me” style videos while discussing these violent crimes.
Made-up words like “graped” and “unalived,” which started as methods of sharing stories to avoid getting restricted by social media algorithms, are now catching on as part of the contemporary English lexicon. These methods of delivery soften stories that do not need to be softened — there are hard-to-hear stories for a reason.
If you love true crime media, that is great for you. Like I said, I watch the videos too from time to time. But be sure to take a breather every once in a while and keep that line between fiction and reality unblurred.
