Crime Rates
I haven't heard truly convincing explanation for the dramatic drop in crime rates in the last couple of decades. Politicians like to attribute it to better policing, but I don't think the data supports that theory. There also doesn't seem to have been any great improvements in education that could account for it. It doesn't seem to be a result of a decrease in poverty or an increased average standard of living.
The thing most strongly correlated seems to be the explosion in diversity and accessibility of media. Violent crimes rates started dropping fairly dramatically in the 90's and continued dropping through the next two decades. I think they've leveled off a bit in the last few years but still seem to be dropping a bit. That correlates pretty well with the rise of the internet and an explosion in media in general. The number of tv channels available in the US seems to have about doubled between 1980 and 1990, and has continued to increase. Obviously the internet started to take off in the 90's leading to all sorts of additional media: news sites, digitally distributed videos and music whatever. Video games also started to take off at basically the same time. I haven't actually looked into it, but I wouldn't be surprised to find talk radio really took off at about the same time.
Basically, starting in the 1980's there started to be a lot more media available, and it began to be more specifically targeted. The market of media consumers began to divided and specifically targeted. Instead of one set of media consumed by everyone, now every demographic and even every view point can get their own version.
Basically, I think we may all be so inundated with media aimed directly at us, calculated to give us exactly what we want, we're too stupified to commit crimes. We unintentionally numbed ourselves into submission. Or perhaps, since we all have our own subset of the media, we're more likely to feel like part of a group, attached to some demographic, and less likely to commit violent crime. I can't quite articulate why exactly it makes a lot of sense to me, but it feels right.
The thing most strongly correlated seems to be the explosion in diversity and accessibility of media. Violent crimes rates started dropping fairly dramatically in the 90's and continued dropping through the next two decades. I think they've leveled off a bit in the last few years but still seem to be dropping a bit. That correlates pretty well with the rise of the internet and an explosion in media in general. The number of tv channels available in the US seems to have about doubled between 1980 and 1990, and has continued to increase. Obviously the internet started to take off in the 90's leading to all sorts of additional media: news sites, digitally distributed videos and music whatever. Video games also started to take off at basically the same time. I haven't actually looked into it, but I wouldn't be surprised to find talk radio really took off at about the same time.
Basically, starting in the 1980's there started to be a lot more media available, and it began to be more specifically targeted. The market of media consumers began to divided and specifically targeted. Instead of one set of media consumed by everyone, now every demographic and even every view point can get their own version.
Basically, I think we may all be so inundated with media aimed directly at us, calculated to give us exactly what we want, we're too stupified to commit crimes. We unintentionally numbed ourselves into submission. Or perhaps, since we all have our own subset of the media, we're more likely to feel like part of a group, attached to some demographic, and less likely to commit violent crime. I can't quite articulate why exactly it makes a lot of sense to me, but it feels right.