Researcher Kathryn D. Coduto has studied why it’s hard to disconnect from cases like those of Karen Read or Gabby Petito.
Society has become obsessed with true crime stories. They dominate headlines, fuel blockbuster streaming shows, and spark thousands of podcasts.
But what does delving into these grisly tales do to our mental health and well-being? And what happens when people take their true crime fandom too far and start acting as amateur detectives or begin harassing key players?
In a new study, Boston University media researcher Coduto asked 280 adults about their social media use and online engagement with crime stories. She found that true crime followers often get sucked into cases, compulsively using and posting on social media, developing one-sided relationships with the characters, and experiencing negative feelings surrounding the stories they follow.
The study appears in Psychology of Popular Media.
Crime stories have long had an influential place in the media, from lurid Victorian-era newspapers to TV shows like Forensic Files. But a recent proliferation of crime news on platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and X has enabled social media users to constantly check their devices for case updates, says Coduto, a BU College of Communication assistant professor of media science. She’s an expert on how people present themselves and interact with others online.
“I thought it was interesting how people started relying on social media as the first entrance point into a story, rather than maybe somewhere to look at what other people were thinking,” says Coduto, whose previous studies have examined online dating and technology use.
“It felt like social media was very quickly becoming an authority for a lot of people.”
In a previous study, Coduto analyzed the January 6 insurrection, finding many turned to social media in pursuit of an unfiltered view of what was happening at the Capitol, trusting an online perspective above that of the legacy media.
When the disappearance of 22-year-old van life vlogger Gabby Petito made national headlines later in 2021, and social media commenters began flooding the influencer’s channels with well-wishes—and her boyfriend’s with accusations—Coduto says she saw the potential to expand her research into studying crime news.
Here, Coduto digs into her findings, including why people become so obsessed with true crime, the role of news platforms and social media companies in sustaining the fascination, and how following these stories may be harmful to our well-being:
Source: Boston University
