What is True Crime Anxiety and Why Doesn’t it Affect Michigan?

The fascination with true crime stories, whether through podcasts, television, books and even music is something of a cultural phenomenon. Some people are enthralled by true-to-life horror stories and others can't fathom why anyone would enjoy such a thing.

Of course, as with most all media, it's a "to each his own" situation.

But something fascinating happens to those who do consume true crime media that is a bit ironic. It's called true crime anxiety.

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From Secure Data Recovery:

For many people, the tingling sensation of fear can be thrilling. Whether that be from horror movies, suspenseful TV shows, or true crime podcasts, the genre keeps fans coming back for more, but also leaves some with anxiety.

While many people like myself enjoy a horror movie thrill, the comfort of reality makes the fear enjoyable. For some who consume the non-fiction tales of true crime, a bleak reality that promises there are people out there capable of such monstrosities.

This leads true crime 'enjoyers' to invest in extra security measures and to keep an even closer eye on their surroundings.

Secure Data Recovery went one step further to see which states suffered from 'true crime anxiety' the most, and interestingly, Michigan is one of the least affected states. Of the 40 states that were able to produce data for the study, only Massachusetts produced less proof of anxiety.

Michigan has a slightly above-average homicide rate, but even Detroit came away as the least anxious city in the same study honing in on 25 large cities. Detroit is notorious for violent crime, so maybe true crime enjoyers in the Motor City are more desensitized.