Troy Payne talks about how social media crime reports can distort world view

Dr. Troy C. Payne, Justice Center faculty,  discussed the ability of social media reports of crime to distort people's view of the world in a recent story in the Anchorage Daily News about the uptick in social media reports of crime.

Dr. Troy C. Payne, Justice faculty

Although there are few academic studies about the impact of social media crime reports, one recent study found that the amount of time that people consume social media about crime influences how they feel about their community, according to Dr. Payne.

"People who use social media are more likely to feel unsafe," Payne said. They may not see crime personally, but when they "look on their Facebook feed, or Nextdoor, they see crime all over the place."

"It can have this really strange distorting effect on how we view the world," Payne said.

While crime in some categories, such as car theft, is increasing, when combined with social media accounts, you have the perfect environment for people to perceive crime as pervasive, Payne said.