Hyperawareness of Crime: The Link Between Media Overexposure and Fear of Crime

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

In recent years, an exponential increase in communications technology has paralleled a similar increase of media consumption. This exposure and interaction with various media outlets has created what this research calls a “hyperawareness of crime”, which is defined as the misled belief that violent crime rates in the United States are increasing due to the overexposure to news outlets saturated with violent crimes.

This research investigates the connections between media exposure, hyperawareness of crime, and their effects on perceptions of crime. Potential societal implications of the discrepancies between these factors are discussed as well.

For this project, data was gathered from the United Nations Population Division, the Nielsen Group, Gallup Polls, and the FBI’s Unified Crime Report, among others, regarding internet usage, media consumption, fear rates, and violent crime rates.

Through the analysis of superimposing of graphical trends, it is proposed that increased media consumption over time results in a hyperawareness of crime, which in turn may lead to a gap between perceived and actual violent crime rates.

Authors

• Megan Louise Travers, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

• Brandon Dulisse, Indiana University of Pennsylvania