Online sleuths cross the line of curiosity and insensitivity
By: Charlotte Trodden
Digital technology is undoubtedly the greatest accomplishment by mankind. Practically every aspect of daily life became less time consuming. Finding jobs became easier, shopping morphed into a strictly online event, and communication suddenly took mere seconds. However, when the internet allowed for the entire world to instantaneously be at one’s fingertips, people were understandably overwhelmed. While certain responses to such great levels of change were expected, some of the more intense outcomes have come as a shock to many. Especially in the case of high profile murders, the disregard for privacy was alarming. Intense violence slowly but surely became a fiction game to those who wanted to capitalize off of shocking events. The sensationalization of true crime has inevitably led to a lack of respect and consideration for the privacy of victims, and a sharp decline in the morality of internet sleuths.
One example of this was on November 13, 2022, when Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle, expected to have a fun Friday night. The last thing on their minds was their lives ending, four hours after the clock struck midnight. News broke around 10 am that four University of Idaho students had been stabbed to death in their shared off-campus apartment. With no known motive, no weapon, and no suspect, authorities were at a loss. Unsolved for months, the case naturally brought a sense of despair and fear to the surrounding communities.
While the appeal to discussion among closely-connected University of Idaho students was expected, the event’s mystery caught the attention of many self proclaimed “detectives” online. In their distress, students and parents alike began to clamor for answers, unintentionally feeding the flame for unqualified individuals to add their two cents. Conspiracy theorists were quick to speculate and build educated guesses off of rumors, not facts. Most social media conspiracists suspected the two survivors of the incident, both of whom were sleeping during the attack, were the culprits. Another alleged convict was the food truck owner, a man who had been seen interacting with the victims that same night. TikTok users theorized the food truck owner may be a “possible stalker,” and demanded that authorities “must not take it lightly.” However, the authorities made it abundantly clear shortly after the initial attack that all three individuals were ruled out as suspects. Those who actually considered the opinion of the police claimed that the roommates “must know more than they are letting on.” Fed up with the senseless accusations, one professor elicited a lawsuit after TikTok users claimed she “planned” the murders. Authorities called online speculation “by far the most frustrating part of the investigation,” and urged social media users to contemplate the weight of their actions. Publicly digging deeper into a personal catastrophe can revictamize friends, family, and community members who have already been traumatized.
While inaccuracies and unwanted assistance from amature crime lovers is frustrating for police, experts are more concerned about the high levels of insensitivity. “Most people don’t stop and think about the ramifications of what it means for (these speculations) to be public,” says Pamela Rutledge, an independent media psychologist researching human behavior. Innocent people easily lose families, jobs, and lives over futile crime investigation. What started out as simple curiosity, quickly led to an online witch hunt. Plenty of uninvolved individuals were harassed and doxxed by online perpetrators. “It’s a very low-stakes game for the sleuths online. They get the excitement of a true crime mystery,” Rutledge says. “But the internet is permanent. It’s searchable, and accusing someone of something incorrectly or even before they have been tried creates real-world consequences.” Most experts theorize that those who feel out of control investigate these events through social media in order to reinforce their rattled sense of security. This coping mechanism is labeled as a parasocial relationship, a connection characterized by no real life involvement or connections. Internet sleuths often feel entitled to the raw details of a personal tragedy and will become emotionally invested in gruesome cases. Normalizing this kind of relationship has led to an abundance of true crime content.
Even with answers and a sense of closure, those who were close with the victim of a fatal crime will never fully recover. Constant reminders of such an event cuts a deeper wound and prolongs the healing process. Though they often believe they are helping, social media detectives simply create further pain, frustration, and confusion among an array of people. There is no harm in curiosity. Nonetheless, before speaking on a sensitive topic such as murder, we must contemplate the weight of our words.
Students gather for a vigil to celebrate the victims’ lives and form support groups.
