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If people aren’t panicked, they wouldn’t elect panic-pandering politicians, so there must always be a panic — crime, drugs, commies, libruls, etc.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    That’s honestly pretty interesting.

    I’d have just assumed it was going up too, if I hadn’t seen this. I chalk it up to social media, which is programmed to make a person think their opinions are all correct while also keeping them perpetually outraged. It keeps people’s dumb eyes glued to ads.

    Still, thanks for the share.

    • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Even after the drastic collapse in violent crime after the mid 90s people still swore that crime was worse than ever. So this isn’t something created by social media. Normal media figured out that outrage holds veiwership, and thus ratings, long before social media got into the mix.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        That’s true. The media has always sensationalized things for ratings.

        Personally I don’t watch news shows, so for me, social media was the first thing that came to mind when considering this trend. Even though 90% of my algorithm is parrot and cat videos, that other 10% is angry Karens.

        • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Yeah, most of my suggested feed is horror, history, and music related stuff. However, even though I actively make sure I tell youtube not to suggest them, and make sure they are not in my history, I still get a regular flow of, mostly right wing, moral, and crime, panic stuff. Even though I have had told YT not to suggest Prager U shit, I have been getting war on christmas BS from them for a month now.

    • Taco2112@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      My neighbors swear they hear gunshots in our neighborhood every night. I grew up around guns in WV and I’ve shot plenty of guns. I don’t know what they’re actually hearing but it’s not gunshots and I can’t convince them any different. People believe what they want to believe and if the news they watch is all crime news then crime must be up.

      • DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Probably just fireworks, my neighbors constantly shoot them off for any reason on any day that ends with “y”, people who don’t know what gunshots sound like often confuse the two.

        • smort@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Fireworks, cars backfiring, and construction noises. I lived in a nice part of Oakland for years and Nextdoor was full of people terrified of these spectres