Do those glove-clad people with suspicion in their eyes interest you? If yes, then you are one of those viewers who form the big fandom of crime and mystery shows! It is claimed that human beings, in general, are just drawn to extreme cases of violence. And drawn to them just doesn’t mean that they watch something and hope to imitate it, there’s just this fascination that has taken over their minds.
Possible Reasons Behind of Popularity of Crime Shows
But why do we have this fascination with the dark side of humanity? One reason is that we’re curious, curious about knowing something which is out of the ordinary. A really simple example of this curiosity is a road accident. Imagine that you are traveling by car and you see a crowd, a police van, or just a traffic jam, it is a common human tendency to be curious. You badly want to know, to see what is happening and multiple questions start crossing your mind even though you know it must be something tragic.
Another reason that makes watching crime so popular is excitement! Crime, even though dark, arouses every single mind. The suspense when we don’t know what’s going to happen next, or being shocked by an unexpected turn, are tactics that hold our attention. We start feeling like detectives, trying to figure out the story. A part of us gets too involved in the suspense and eventually, it becomes an addiction.
Read this wonderful blog here, to know more about the Psychology behind Crime Shows
Does Watching Crime have Any Side-Effects?
The number of crime shows on TV has increased significantly over the years. Every second channel you switch to, you’ll find one show of this kind. These shows have really changed the way we look at the world.
1. The Negative Energy
Even if you are a big fan of this genre, there must have been at least one time when you would have felt the negative energy. You’ve probably experienced some side effects after watching a scary movie like nightmares, or trouble falling asleep. Similarly, watching crime and disturbing things affects you emotionally.
Each human is different, some might be comfortable in watching high levels of violence but for some, it might be a traumatizing experience. People should be able to figure out how their body reacts to such situations and then choose the content. Even if you are a diehard fan, you can feel the obsession and might start to find the content upsetting. Once you figure your mood out, it is time to reevaluate!
2. Possible Reason for Anxiety
Not only this, but over-exposure of crime shows can also lead to anxiety and perpetual tension. It can potentially increase your feelings of paranoia and inhibit you from taking risks. Prolonged exposure to true crime stories affects your body negatively and your stress levels spike when you’re watching it.
3. Desensitisation
In another sense, watching dark content can leave you desensitized. Overconsumption of crime eventually leads to the risk of normalizing harm. Some true-crime series also put an emphasis on the criminal, and pay less attention to victims or their families. This can cause people to “romanticize” a killer, for example, and not consider the communities affected by these crimes. People start taking the world as a cruel and bitter place in general.
4. Fear of Victimization
Some people develop a fear of victimization, and this belief can affect their feelings of comfort and security. In some cases, people tend to consume such dramas as a distraction from our own difficulties. These crime shows may help young people to distract themselves from real problems and painful emotions. Have a look at this article and get to know more about how crime shows affect our brain
Past records have revealed the harmful effects of crime shows on society. There is a way in which people generally perceive the law system to work. But these shows portray justice in a way that changes this perception. Viewers of crime show also misjudge a large number of law enforcement officers and attorneys in the total workforce.
Do these Shows Increase Crime Rates?
Crime shows like CSI, CID, etc. have a deep impact on society. And the effects are not only limited to negatives but some positives too! A number of police officers do believe that crime shows that focus so much on the importance of forensic evidence have also made some criminals keenly aware of the need to erase it or crooks more aware of protecting themselves in some way or the other.
Not only this, but even the jury also gets smarter. Watching all these investigations puts ideas in their minds and they expect all kinds of technology and lab reports and processing to be done. If the media can shape other areas of reality, then it can surely shape how one perceives crime. If you then believe that DNA evidence can be found in almost every case and the results of the test are delivered in under an hour and you’re sitting on a jury where they don’t have DNA evidence or not even fingerprints, you might feel that the evidence is not sufficient enough to convict since ‘important’ forensic evidence is missing!
True crime shows can sometimes create pretty unrealistic expectations about the criminal justice system in the real world. It's an unfortunate reality, but oftentimes, justice isn't served as quickly and efficiently as true crime shows would have you believe. Such expectations are becoming increasingly frequent and its starting to put pressure on the criminal justice system to make some changes. As a result, the police and judges are becoming frustrated with the public’s unrealistic expectations.
Conclusion
Crime shows have gotten famous throughout the most recent twenty years. They have raised the significance of legal proof according to general society. So, in all, crime shows aren’t really beneficial for you and your brain. From mental health to social life, everything gets affected in total. True crime stories are anything but difficult to get snared on, yet it might be to your greatest advantage to restrict those all-day marathons, at least a little bit, just to give your brain a break.
Also interested in knowing how daily soaps have been impacting us?
Read this article here and get to about how daily soaps are affecting us
Written By - Riya Garg
Edited By - Neha Kundu
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