Watching and enjoying true crime series is a major red flag, warns psychologist

In recent years, crime thrillers, specifically crime stories based on real-life incidents have become more popular on streaming platforms. Many of us binge-watch shows like Dahmer, Making of a Murderer or Indian Predator, which is normal as long as you are watching them out of curious nature. But watching these shows to unwind can be a major red flag, reveals one psychologist.

Dr Thema Bryant appeared on The Mel Robbins Podcast and talked about how people can reconnect and heal after experiencing hardship.

Speaking to host Robbins, she revealed that those who watch and listen to violent media may do so because the trauma is familiar to them.

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She said, “If your idea of relaxing before you go to sleep is to watch three episodes of Law and Order, [then] I would encourage you to think about ‘why is trauma relaxing to me?’”.

"That's what it is. Harm, crime, violation, attacks, and that's what is going to soothe me into my bedtime."

Dr Bryant explained that some people find this content “normal and familiar.”

She continued, “Some of us grew up in high stress, so people mistake peace for boring. To come home to yourself you have to lean into the discomfort because it’s gonna feel unfamiliar.”

How netizens reacted on psychologist’s observation

Many people agreed with Dr Bryant’s analysis and opened up about why they enjoy true crime documentaries. One person commented on the podcast,” It distracts me from the pain I’m feeling in my life. I don’t like it, it just redirects my anger.”

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Another said, “The trauma isn’t relaxing to me – it’s the justice the characters or real people often get that I never did in my own life.”

A third wrote, “Wow that is exactly what I watch to relax. This was so enlightening.”

Dahmer is among the most-watched series on Netflix

In Netflix’s list of top 10 most-watched series, Dahmer ranks third. It has been watched for 856,220,000 hours on the platform. Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a limited series about one of the most notorious serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer.

Dahmer received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, reaching the number-one spot on Netflix in the first week of its release. It became Netflix's second most-watched English-language series of all time within 28 days, and the third Netflix series to pass 1 billion views in 60 days. The series reached number one on the Nielsen Top 10 streaming chart in the first week of its release and placed No. 7 on Nielsen's all-time list for single-week viewership in its second week.

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