Why do cases always attract us to become online detectives?

Crime, especially murders, has always been a topic of public interest. Nowadays, you can catch the topic of crime anywhere, on newspapers, on TV, on social networks .

And even though that attraction has been around for decades, the arrival of the internet has added a new wave to these topics. Now, instead of just reading a fictional novel, fans can directly take part in solving real-life cases.

Communities of " network detectives " have begun to form, such as websleuths, r / RBI, r / UnsolvedMysteries. The Internet has become an extremely rapid environment for sharing information, clues and evidence. It helps anyone sitting behind the keyboard can deduce about what happened.

The appeal of real life cases is undeniable. But what exactly attracts us to become such amateur detectives?

1. Humans have vigilant instincts

Dr. Marissa Harrison, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, said people are interested in the subject of crime, because we have evolved to be aware of what could be harmful to us.

It is like a survival instinct. Through learning about murders - answering questions like who the murderer was, how the murder happened, who the victim is . - people will also learn how to prevent it. Avoid becoming a victim in the future.

The survival instinct urges us to learn about cases, agrees Amanda Vicary, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois.

This motivation is especially true for women. A 2010 study in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science shows that women are more likely to search for real-life crime stories than men.

They read stories as a preparation, finding ways to avoid them, and tips to help them cope with similar dangerous situations. Basically, this is entirely consistent with the study of criminology, explaining that we all tend to focus on threats to ourselves.

2. Cases are always stories

It is not by chance that detective fiction has become a popular line of literature. Everything comes from our genes. Justine Mastin, a psychotherapist in Minneapolis, said: As humans, we are always drawn to stories.

" We have interacted with all sorts of stories since the dawn of our species. Oral legends, cave wall drawings tell both triumphs and failures as a way of transmitting them." lessons from one generation to the next , "she said.

And cases are always the most typical stories. " People are particularly drawn to stories that allow us to wonder what happened, and how it happened? What would I do if I were a person in the story of that case? ? ", Mastin said.

We also believe we can do better if we face similar situations.

3. They contain puzzles

In every unresolved case, brain-stimulating puzzles exist. After following a case with episodes on TV or in the press, we tend to string them together, deduce and play the armchair detective game.

Michele Ruyters, assistant dean of the Department of Justice and Legal Research at RMIT University, said we want to explain a case the same way we want to solve a puzzle or a crossword puzzle.

" My heart thinks everyone likes to be detectives, " she said. "Human innate curiosity makes us want to analyze every problem and find solutions for it . "

4. The guilty joy from the cases

Crime stories allow us to experience scary emotions without actually embodying them, and that creates a sense of security, Mastin said. " Although I am experiencing this, I can stop at any time."

It is the same kind of excitement you experience when you watch horror movies or listen to ghost stories. Adrenaline works on the sympathetic nervous system, you still experience the feeling of fear because of what happened in the case, but satisfied because you control that fear.

It is also a guilty pleasure to realize that you are not the victim in the story yourself.

Psychologists call it schadenfreude - joy over the misfortune of others . When reading about cases, people tend to be relieved by themselves not being their victims.

5. And the longing for justice

In addition to emotional motivations, reason is also a part of our interest in cases.

Keith Findley, associate professor of criminology at Wisconsin Law University, said open, unexplained cases - or investigative conclusions but many doubts - were the main factors contributing to the Public attention.

" The public is starting to become more aware, that sometimes innocent people are unjustly convicted ," Findley said. If an innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not commit, their followers will feel they need to comment on it.

Everyone has the same ideal that justice must be enforced.

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