The reason goes much deeper than just wanting to curl up and watch a good series.
Women are more prone to like ‘true crime’ series.
Mike Wills interviews Prof Renata Schoeman, Psychiatrist and Head of Healthcare Leadership at Stellenbosch Business School.
True crime podcasts, television, and streaming series are extremely popular and the genre continues to grow.
Perhaps you’ve seen the post that’s been making its rounds on social media, declaring anyone who watches true crime shows as a ‘red flag’.
But the reason may be more serious than we think.
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According to a statistics report, women make up most of the audience.
In a South African-specific context, over twenty-two thousand women were sexually assaulted in 2022.
At least 50% of women above the age of 15 will be exposed to gender-based violence at some point of their life.
Schoeman proposes two theories as to why women binge-watch series of this genre.
The first being that they’re able to associate and relate to the victim, especially if they’re unable to voice their own experiences and receive help.
The second theory is that it co-indices with online dating.
Schoeman says that because of social media, people are able to get catfished easier, and therefore, listening to these podcasts or watching the series provides tips on how to safe guard themselves.
Shows and podcasts of this nature makes women become more vigilant and aware of the ‘cruel’ and ‘grim’ reality of what could happen to them in certain situations, she adds.
Binge-watching shows of this nature will eventually have a negative impact on your mental health, which is why it’s important to engage with light-hearted content as well, recommends Schoeman.
People get away with committing crimes, especially in South Africa.
Prof Renata Schoeman, Psychiatrist and Head of Healthcare Leadership – Stellenbosch Business School
Bingeing on any screen time is not good.
Prof Renata Schoeman, Psychiatrist and Head of Healthcare Leadership – Stellenbosch Business School
Scroll up to listen to the full interview.
This article first appeared on CapeTalk : The worrisome reason why women make up most of the ‘true crime’ genre audience
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