True (Media) Crime: True Crime Content in the Age of Social Media
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Evan Shenkin
Subject Area
Sociology
Description
The true crime genre has rapidly expanded in the digital age, facilitated by social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube that have transformed both content creation and consumption of this form of media. This research draws on five semi-structured interviews with true crime content creators and five semi-structured interviews with consumers of true crime content to better understand the motivations behind the work of content creators. Potential benefits to the genre include victim advocacy, awareness, and education for the public. Concerns with the genre include misinformation and Missing White Woman Syndrome in the media are explored in the context of true crime content creators on social media. Interviews with consumers of true crime media reveal themes of fears of gendered victimization, morbid curiosity, increased empathy for victims, and exploitation online. This paper applies cultivation theory and conflict theory to explore the possible theoretical implications of the creation and consumption of true crime on social media.
Recommended Citation
Shuckhart, Anika, "True (Media) Crime: True Crime Content in the Age of Social Media" (2024). Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement. Event. Submission 7.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/symposium/2024/all/7
True (Media) Crime: True Crime Content in the Age of Social Media
The true crime genre has rapidly expanded in the digital age, facilitated by social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube that have transformed both content creation and consumption of this form of media. This research draws on five semi-structured interviews with true crime content creators and five semi-structured interviews with consumers of true crime content to better understand the motivations behind the work of content creators. Potential benefits to the genre include victim advocacy, awareness, and education for the public. Concerns with the genre include misinformation and Missing White Woman Syndrome in the media are explored in the context of true crime content creators on social media. Interviews with consumers of true crime media reveal themes of fears of gendered victimization, morbid curiosity, increased empathy for victims, and exploitation online. This paper applies cultivation theory and conflict theory to explore the possible theoretical implications of the creation and consumption of true crime on social media.
