Millennials have been accused of killing industries, professions, products, and ways of life. We’ve seen it all, “Millennials are killing the housing/pet food/fast food industries.” “Millennials are killing the modern family.” “Millennials are killing the job market.” We have been bombarded by boomers accusing us of killing the economy due to our thrifty spending and environmentally conscious buying. Our waiting until we are financially stable to get married (all while working three jobs and trying to get out from under our debt). We’ve killed name-brand pet foods that used to sell well due to their low prices but still high profit margins (made possible by their use of unhealthy fillers) because we are more willing to spend the extra money to feed our pets high quality foods.
Recently I saw a post that made me think of all the things millennials have been accused of, so I have a new one for you… Millennials are killing the serial killer industry. Yes, you heard me correctly. Millennials are killing the serial killer industry. With the push towards social media, ride sharing, Air BnBs, and more… you would think that the serial killer industry would be THRIVING! Serial killings were very prominent in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, “There were 19 in the 1960s, 119 in the ‘70s, and 200 in the ‘80s. In the ‘90s, the number of cases dropped to 141. And the 2000s saw only 61 serial murderers.”
With the explosion of technological advancements and social media, the ability to get information out in order to prevent people from entering dangerous situations has become increasingly easy. There are warnings everywhere for how to make sure your drivers are who they are supposed to be, it’s possible to share your phone’s GPS location with a simple click, and we even have technology that allows us to see who is at our front door when we aren’t even in our own homes! While there are always going to be serial killers, the technological boom fueled by a generation that flourishes on social connection has definitely seemed to attribute to a decrease is activity.
***Please, always take precautions to keep yourself safe and make sure that you have the means to defend yourself. Decreases in serial murders does not mean that there is no danger.
Beam, C. (2019). Slate’s Use of Your Data. Retrieved from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2011/01/the-decline-of-the-serial-killer.html