Unravelling Our True Crime Obsession

0:09: Awesome, thank you.
0:10: So I’m Nikki and I am a registered provisional psychologist and I practice at Simply
Counselling Services and with me tonight is Jenna, and she is the owner of Simply Counseling
Services and a registered psychologist, so.
0:30: Thank you.
0:31: She’s a celebrity already.
0:33: , thank you so much for joining us tonight.
0:35: We’re so excited that you’re here, to go on this journey with us.
0:39: We have two disclaimers to make.
0:41: So the first one is, as with everything that you’ve been seeing tonight, and I think it was
posted on the website as well, we will be talking about information that could be triggering to
some folks in the audience.
0:52: The other disclaimer that I’m gonna make is that.
0:56: Both massive true crime fanatics, so we were a little bit biased when we put this
presentation together for tonight, but we are so excited to go on this journey with all of you.
1:08: To kick things off.
1:11: You in the audience first.
1:13: So it’ll be anonymous.
1:16: And we’re hoping it’s gonna work.
1:26: So the first question is.
1:29: You consume true crime stories.
1:42: There needs to be some sort of definition in the right of all the time.
1:48: OK, so look at that.
1:50: Quite a few are all the time.
1:55: I do I’m gonna share with you because I think it’s to 23% of 35% of OK 62% of for Yeah
That’s good.
2:30: Next question.
2:32: So how do you consume the true crime stories most often?
2:35: So there’s many different mediums that we can use.
2:39: To tune in.
2:40: So if you had to pick one, what would you say?
2:51: a little bit accessible electronically.
3:03: Do you feel consuming this information has a negative impact?
3:14: OK is really interesting.
3:28: OK Because this will be interesting for later.
3:31: I’m gonna skip to the next one.
3:35: Again, the psychologists describe how you feel.
3:46: is a Yeah.
4:01: Educated is an interesting one.
4:07: I Now we get serious.
4:12: Yes, OK, so we are going to flip through some signs of going to play automatically, and
Jenna and I are gonna stay quiet.
4:19: We hope that you all will as well.
4:21: , so just sit back and watch it play.
5:36: OK, that brings us to our next question.
5:40: Now, how do you feel, if you could describe it in one word.
5:50: The one that just jumped out at me was remorse for the victims.
5:57: Mixed emotions, yes, absolutely.
6:00: Definitely a shift.
6:02: Mhm.
6:04: So we see some that are rising to the top.
6:06: They’re obviously sad, uneasy, disgusted, uncomfortable, unsettled, unsettled.
6:13: Curious.
6:16: What we’re hoping that you got from that little exercise is obviously the vast spectrum of
emotions that could come up when we are consuming this content, and we hope that it also
demonstrates the possibility of true crime, that it can happen in many different places near and
far, and it comes in many different varieties as well.
6:42: So begs the question.
6:44: Why do we do this to ourselves after thinking about all of the emotions that we shared at
the beginning of the presentation,, why do we continue to consume the information and why
are we so fascinated by it?
6:56: So let’s dive into some of the reasons.
7:00: So if you ask Americans, 61% say the reason why they consume the true crime content
is because it makes them more empathetic.
7:09: 63% say it helps them to understand the legal system better, and then 72% say it makes
you more informed about the world.
7:16: So that’s sort of that public opinion or public perspective.
7:20: the research, it’s a little different.
7:23: The research says.
7:25: not one reason as to why we might consume the content.
7:30: A reflection of the fact that true crime in and of itself is so.
7:35: The other thing is that the research for this area is actually still quite new.
7:40: That’s also because again the landscape of how we are consuming the information is
changing so quickly, so it’s still new.
7:47: Little bit of knowledge and it actually goes back to our ancestors.
7:53: And that is because Awareness is actually an evolutionary benefit.
7:59: So when we tune into potential dangers, it helps to ensure that we survive and then
closely linked.
8:08: The idea of control and protection.
8:11: With that knowledge, with that awareness, we use that to protect ourselves.
8:17: We read the stories, we know what to look out for, for the most part, and we use that
information to keep us protected.
8:26: And then of course another reason Choose to consume the information.
8:32: Because we just got to know why, right?
8:35: You just want to know why we are.
8:37: Endless pursuit of trying to understand why do these things happen.
8:43: It’s interesting here is that the research actually says that from We are fascinated by the
concept of good versus evil and so consuming this information specifically around true crime is
sort of an embodiment of that, of that experience of the dynamic between good versus evil.
9:01: And then the other piece here is because we want to be able to enter into the mind of
the.
9:06: Understand if I could just that.
9:11: Almost like we’re searching for.
9:16: a question for me that I’m gonna pitch to Jenna and I’d like for her to answer, which is
why do you think searching for that sense of That understanding makes us feel better about
consuming the information.
9:27: , I think it, it just goes back to that.
9:34: Protection, right?
9:35: So,, and going back to the survival.
9:40: Because it’s happening so we can better understand ourselves.
9:48: OK, so then that leaves us.
9:52: To the next reason why we might be fascinated by the information and why we choose to
consume it, and that is because by learning about what happens in true crime, we can actually
create a sense of physical distance.
10:06: To your point there, Jenna, about protecting ourselves.
10:09: So if we are knowledgeable and can look out for these situations, we can create that
sense of physical distance or physical barrier.
10:16: The story that I think of here is Ted Bundy, and if everybody’s familiar with some of his
crimes, there’s that one story of him with his crutches walking through the university campus to
his Volkswagen Beetle with his textbooks under his arm.
10:33: He drops the textbooks and I think it’s a young woman.
10:38: To help him pick up the books and ends up being one of his victims.
10:45: Struggling with their books, you’re gonna think twice soon.
10:50: Yeah.
10:53: I just never So the next reason why we might be fascinated.
11:01: Because on the other side of thinking about the possible benefits that we just talked
about.
11:07: It can be The inner drive that we have to escape.
11:11: It’s a natural human thing to experience.
11:14: You perhaps experience that feeling of want to escape from the normal everyday
monotony of life, and this is sort of an extreme in a different way to do that, to fulfill that desire.
11:26: Apparently it’s not ideal.
11:29: Sleep to watching the monster series.
11:35: So.
11:36: It is, it’s, it’s an escape, right?
11:38: So and especially with of Netflix, right, and rising these shows, it has just become so
easy to consume it, right?
11:47: , but yeah, it’s a good escape.
11:52: OK, the next reason then why we might be fascinated and why we might choose to
consume the information is because the research says that you might actually find a little bit of
pleasure in consuming the information.
12:05: I The adrenaline rush where you find that sweet spot between being on the edge of fear
and you have that little bit of pleasure that comes along with the endorphin rush, so it’s that
same sensation that you could be experiencing there as well.
12:20: Thinking of a roller coaster, that feeling, right?
12:23: and research actually showed that men are more likely to experience that fear and
pleasure intersection more often than women.
12:31: OK, the next reason.
12:34: It’s very possible that we’ve been groomed to consume the information.
12:38: Media plays an enormous role in the content that we consume.
12:44: And now thanks to the many different mediums and the ways that we can access it, it’s
massive.
12:50: It’s in our faces every day.
12:52: And then the next reason is because we all love to play the role of armchair detective.
12:59: It can be so interesting to go on that path of trying to solve the mystery and put the
puzzle pieces together.
13:07: And so the research has shown that this could be.
13:10: We are fascinated by it.
13:12: And Connection it’s weird but true.
13:17: We actually connect by talking about the stories,, chatting at the water cooler with your
colleague about the latest Menendez,, documentary,, and what’s interesting is that the
research is actually saying that it used to be sort of taboo to have these conversations,
especially in the workplace.
13:35: It’s part of the norm and you almost.
13:39: no Up on the latest stories, so there’s signs behind that.
13:47: OK.
13:48: And then one of the last reasons.
13:50: The reason that Jenna and I think have put through, it’s a theme that I think goes
through many of our, our conversations but storytelling.
14:00: As human beings, we all have a story.
14:03: And this is just another way to consume the story and of course the true crime.
14:08: We consume is a story at its core, and this is.
14:14: How we connect, how we relate.
14:17: the storytelling as well And the last piece that we’re gonna leave you with is some other
of our psychologists thoughts, it’s not the research slots, but as humans, we are capable of a
wide variety of things.
14:30: We are capable of great and wonderful.
14:34: Awful and horrific things.
14:36: So it’s really interesting when you stand back and you think about That people make in
life and then how they also respond to things that happen.
14:46: I think consuming.
14:48: demonstrates that wide spectrum of the way that people behave.
14:54: If you think back to the pictures that we showed at the beginning, when you look at
those pictures.
14:59: Connection, but if we take away the story, they’re just Right, so it’s so interesting to
see.
15:08: Stories create that connection and create that reaction amongst us and That it drives us
to create more.
15:19: like sharing how we feel when we hear new stories, right?
15:23: To validate this.
15:26: OK, and then the last piece is Basic principle in psychology, which is not every reason
makes sense for every human.
15:35: So there’s many different reasons that people might choose to consume the
information or why they might be fascinated by it.
15:42: And as a psychologist I might argue that that is just as fascinating as the true crime
stories themselves.
15:48: So the reason why we choose to tune in.
15:51: So that brings us to our last question where we’re gonna get you to participate.
15:55: Which is, what is your reason?
15:59: Why do you choose to consume the true crime content?
16:04: Why do you think you’re fascinated by it?
16:07: We showed you lots of different examples tonight.
16:10: Was there anything that stood out to you, or is there something that we maybe missed?
16:23: Definitely at the top there, entertainment.
16:30: There’s one person who Those are all very valid.
16:41: Amazing That is it for us, but we want to open it up to you.
16:49: Ask your questions through the mentee.
16:51: You can do that.
16:53: Or Gosh, so many Think consuming true crime is overall beneficial.
17:09: Do I think it’s all.
17:19: They did play But do you think consuming true crime is overall beneficial?
17:32: Well, I think it’s, here’s your true psychology answer.
17:35: It just depends on the person.
17:37: I think it’s.
17:39: What is your It’s just to understand human beings because human beings have so
many different features, tendencies, so I think it’s more about understanding more about
human beings than it is to push us away from each other.
18:32: So again, that connection piece, that storytelling, so I would say.
18:38: Probably not.
18:39: I think it’s, it’s more about connecting with each other and learning about people and
understanding.
18:47: And again that wide spectrum of the potential human behaviour, right?
18:51: So it’s an understanding that it can.
18:53: I show up in many different ways, yeah.
18:57: The that I came across that kind of spoke to that that.
19:02: There’s that same effect of like seeing a car accident and not.
19:08: and feeling like you have to look at it for whatever reason, I didn’t dive into the specifics
on that, but there is that phenomenon with.
19:15: It is that feeling where you’re drawn to it and you actually want to consume it and see it.
19:19: Yeah, and I think at the root of that, it’s again about that survival piece, right, like
understanding like if I watch that car crash, then I might.
19:29: Right I think it’s in a way OK.
19:37: Thank you so much for you time.