Why are we so Obsessed with True Crime?
Every week, the Wonder Newsroom asks our community to pose questions on topics confronting our world today.
Earlier this month, Adnan Syed walked free after a Maryland judge vacated his 2000 conviction for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
Adnan’s case was brought to mass public attention in 2014 with the release of the True Crime podcast Serial– the series was downloaded more than 68M times in less than a year and became the first podcast to win a Peabody Award, spawning countless imitators.
Today, the True Crime genre has an 18% share of the U.S. weekly podcast audience, which represents the 3rd largest share among all genres, behind only Comedy and News.
From Jack the Ripper, H.H. Holmes, and Ted Bundy, and to the likes of the Italian Mafia, Tiger King, Robert Durst, Larry Nassar, and Jeffrey Epstein, these stories appeal to our morbid curiosity to get a glimpse into the mind of a real person who has committed a heinous act.
But for every sincere adaptation that leaves the obsessive exploitation of the individual behind to critique the system at large... we get another TV series with a "hot" Jeffrey Dahmer– Hence why True Crime is often justly criticized for sensationalizing victims and their trauma for the sake of entertainment.
In this special Halloween Edition of the Wonder Newsroom, we beg the question: Is TRUE CRIME a trick... or a treat?
WHAT TYPE OF TRUE CRIME STORIES ATTRACT THE THE MOST VIEWERS?
Out of a survey of True Crime fans, The top five most consumed topics among US viewers are: Murder (52%), Serial Killers (45%), Kidnapping (37%), Organized crime (35%), and Sexual Assault, Domestic Abuse, and Corruption all tied at 31%. (source)
Millennials (78%) and Gen Zers (74%) were most likely to say they are fans of "serial killer" shows, compared with Gen Xers (67%) and Baby Boomers (45%). (source)
The most-seen serial killer movie that respondents said they had seen was “The Silence of the Lambs” (69%), followed by “Psycho” (52%), “Seven” (38%), and “American Psycho” (38%). (source)
WHAT DOES TRUE CRIME MEDIA GET WRONG?
While crime rates have decreased in the US–with violent crimes going from 747 per 100,000 people in 1993 to 379 per 100,000 in 2019–the perception of crime has increased. (source)
In 2000, 47% of US adults said crime was up compared to the previous year, while in 2020, 78% believed that. (source)
Most victims portrayed in True Crime media are White women when Black women are 2.5x more likely to be murdered by men than white women. (source)
In True Crime podcasts, around 19% of the content featured serial killers, when in reality serial murders make up less than 1% of murders, as most violence is committed by someone the victim knows. (source)
63% of surveyed Americans said True Crime gives people a better understanding of the justice system. (source)
Many Americans' understanding of the justice system is formed via the entertainment industry. In one study, students who watched a lot of crime shows (fiction or non-fiction) were better at planning crimes. (source)
Source: Unikorea
WHO ARE TRUE CRIME’S BIGGEST FANS?
Around 22% and 40% of U.S. adults have stated that they are "very" or "somewhat" interested in True Crime stories as a form of entertainment. (source)
Attendees at CrimeCon, a US-based True Crime convention, have an average household income of $175,000 per year. (source)
A 2019 study found that women make up 73% of True Crime podcast listeners. (source)
Liza Finlay, a psychotherapist in Toronto, states: "Women watch True Crime so they don’t feel quite so alone. Their fear is validated and unsanitized. Women watch… so they can learn [to] arm themselves and thus protect themselves. Women watch to feel empowered."
A DEEPER DIVE – WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF TRUE CRIME?
Check out Wonder's comprehensive investigation of the history of the True Crime genre dating back to the 16th Century HERE.
CURIOSITY CORNER – THE TRUE CRIME QUIZ
Which famed FBI investigator, a founding member of the Behavioral Science Unit, is credited with coining the term "serial killer"?
What percent of the world's total prisoner population are incarcerated within the United States?
Charles Manson, the American criminal whose followers carried out a series of murders in the late 1960s, took inspiration from which song by The Beatles?
Often credited as one of the great American true Crime and non-fiction novels, who famously wrote In Cold Blood?
What is the most common crime committed within the United States?
1) Robert Ressler 2) 20% 3) Helter Skelter 4) Truman Capote 5) Theft/Larceny
