From Hollywood films to popular novels, the inclusion of serial killers across all forms of media continues as a long-held morbid fascination and frequently used trope. This kind of grotesque interest in a subject so macabre leaves one to wonder how this curiosity could potentially affect the real-life motivations and patterns of serial killers. Social media impacts the daily lives and actions of millions of people, including those with a less stable grasp on reality compared to the rest. The sensationalization of these types of crimes and offenders has proven to leave a mark on the way serial killers choose their targets and the events that began their rise to infamy.
The likelihood of a serial killer crossing one’s path remains close to zero, yet an unlikely victim who happens to meet a killer usually remains blissfully unaware. Detectives and police officials face this issue when trying to solve these crimes, which commonly leads to cases involving serial killings remaining unsolved. Serial killers usually present as ordinary, charming and oftentimes intelligent in their daily lives to hide the violent activities that occur behind closed doors.
“While I was a student at Florida State University (FSU), in 1978, my wife and I were living in The Oaks, the rooming house where Ted Bundy stayed while he was planning his brutal assault and killing of young women in Tallahassee. I’m sure I would have seen him numerous times and likely spoken to him, but I had no reason to suspect he was different from the rest of the residents and students in the area. My connections to Ted Bundy remind me that serial killers can appear as normal as anybody and also how they may develop a lifestyle that masks their desires and evil intentions,” retired social worker from Illinois, Richard George, said.
Serial killers commonly form superficial relationships with others to conceal their true identity, and these tactics usually work. Unfortunately, this fact often proves true, with around 40% of serial killers evading punishment for their crimes. However, due to the rapid rate at which forensic technology continues to improve, these numbers are likely to continue increasing. Forensic technology, such as fingerprint identification, DNA phenotyping and virtual crime scene reconstruction, acts as key tools for investigators, especially in cases of serial killings.
“The decline [of serial killers] is likely due to three key factors, increased and modernized technologies used in investigations such as advancements in DNA analysis, Digital Forensics, Ballistics and Firearms Investigations, Forensic Toxicology and Biometric Technologies, to name a few. Investigators are designing more coordinated and collaborative strategies and are more connected to resource tools that enhance crime scene reconstruction, such as 3D Crime Scene Reconstruction. Vulnerable populations are shifting as more people are becoming aware of safety and security measures, installing their own safeguarding technologies to prevent victimization,” criminology teacher Erika Bailey said.
Despite serial killings declining, there will always exist a percentage of killers that fall under the characterization of a serial killer. This indicates the importance for police, as well as psychologists, to understand how social media can influence the patterns and prevalence of serial killings increasing drastically. Social media allows for the rise of copycat crimes, otherwise known as when a violent or gruesome piece of media grows increasingly popular or praised, which could potentially inspire real-life violent crimes. Even if these individuals lived their whole lives not mentally stable, the availability of graphic media allows for these types of people to experience and access violent content through ways such as news outlets, forum groups or chat rooms.
The constant exposure to explicit and sometimes violent forms of media represents a long-standing trend. Since the beginning of online content, the fascination with horror and violent crime continues to prevail as a popular trope and genre in media production. Three main factors help to explain this phenomenon: economic incentive, social media algorithms and innate human curiosity. Since the dawn of time, journalism’s philosophy tends to prioritize money and time over accuracy, and the constant demand for new and entertaining content leads to the dramatization and exaggeration of violent crimes, hence the phrase, if it bleeds, it leads. Social media algorithms also help promote brutal and violent content because they grab the viewer’s attention and can easily generate strong emotional responses, which leads to increased interaction. Finally, innate human curiosity remains as the likely cause of the increase in popularity and dramatization of gruesome and violent media. The answer to why humans possess such a strong and sometimes morbid curiosity to understand situations or actions that simply remain inexplicable will probably remain unanswered for a long time. Nevertheless, biologists and psychologists attempt to explain this phenomenon through ways that result from the never-ending human need for entertainment and pleasure, no matter the source.
Serial killings contribute to less than 1% of murders; however, they compose the majority of the violent crimes as seen on screen and across social media. This prompted the sensationalization of these gruesome and barbaric crimes against innocent people, and not typically to share the stories of victims or prevent this type of offense from happening again. In fact, the dramatization of these crimes only did the opposite, by continuing to inspire these notorious and gruesome types of crime, society will remember forever.
