this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024
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[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 227 points 7 months ago (12 children)

It’s those lazy millennials. They just don’t have the patience or dedication.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 72 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Who has the money or the leave to travel around, book hotels, go on lots of dates and buy power tools,

[–] ZeroCool@slrpnk.net 59 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Boomers: Would you rather eat avocado toast or become a serial killer?

Millennials/GenZ: What the fuck? Uh, I guess I’d rather eat the toast?

Boomers nObOdY WaNts To SerIaL KiLl aNyMoRe!

[–] Shotgun_Alice@lemmy.world 46 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Millennials are killing the serial killer industry.

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[–] tal@lemmy.today 61 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (10 children)

The rise started before 1950, rose the most rapidly from 1960 to 1970, plateaued in 1980, and then collapsed moving towards 2010.

https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-pedia/at-what-age-do-serial-killers-start-killing/

As previously mentioned, the typical age range for serial killers to start killing is in their late 20s to early 30s.

So figure that the people killing were maybe maybe late 20s to early 30s in late 1950s to 1970, when the numbers were exploding.

That means people born in ~1920 to ~1940; the serial killers probably were mostly born in the interwar period, between World War I and World War II; born in the Roaring Twenties and then the Great Depression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials

Going based on the generations there, that would have mostly been the Silent Generation.

The period of rapid increase was only about twenty years long, so it's really only about the length of one generation (though that doesn't mean that it need nicely align with the "generational cohorts" thing).

The Boomers were already falling off.

By the time Generation X rolled around, the spike would already have been done.

Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, long after all this happened.

And one other point -- remember that the graph is of absolute, not per-capita numbers. According to it, in 2010, we have numbers in absolute terms comparable to about 1955. But that's in absolute terms.

https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1955/

In 1955, the US population was about 106 million. Today, it is 334 million. That is, in per-capita terms, 2010 is somewhat-lower than any period shown on the chart. It's not just low, it's lower than it's ever been.

Now, all that being said, I'm not sure how they measure the number of concurrently-active serial killers. I would imagine that things like the advent of DNA evidence, buildup of fingerprint databases, and other changes in criminology probably have changed things; one might have assumed that a serial killer was responsible for a copycat/similar crime, or perhaps vice versa in different conditions.

[–] cogman@lemmy.world 48 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The other theory I've heard that makes some sense is lead exposure. From 1925 to about 1976, lead was commonly added to gasoline. Lead is known to cause psychological problems including irritablity and general mood disorders.

Pretty much everyone born during that period was exposed to aerosolized lead.

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[–] 4am@lemm.ee 15 points 7 months ago

Going based on the generations there, that would have mostly been the Silent Generation.

It’s always the quiet ones

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[–] Jimmyeatsausage@lemmy.world 35 points 7 months ago

Or massive amounts of lead poisoning

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[–] dustyData@lemmy.world 113 points 7 months ago (11 children)

Lead poisoning is still the prevalent theory, I think. It fucks up brain development in ways that make kids tend to sociopathic personalities.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 50 points 7 months ago (9 children)

I’m always glad to hear more people know about lead poisoning. It makes a lot of sense.

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[–] Flamangoman@leminal.space 99 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Mass terror attacks way the fuck up though

[–] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 51 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

John Wayne Gacy killed 33 people, that we know of, in his entire life. 21 killed in Uvalde alone.

We just streamlined things.

[–] josefo@leminal.space 24 points 7 months ago

Why kill them serially, while you can kill them in parallel.

Stupid IT joke, sorry.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

67 domestic terrorism attacks by right wing groups in the US from 2017-2022.

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[–] eldoom@lemmy.ml 68 points 7 months ago (4 children)

No... Actually they switched to killing homeless and drug addicts and the police don't actually investigate them.

[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 54 points 7 months ago (1 children)

... and Indigenous and Black women, who just run away for no reason so aren't really missing.

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[–] wavebeam@lemmy.world 45 points 7 months ago (8 children)

lot of comments in here talking about how they're just doing their kills some other way: cops, mass shootings, not getting caught (this one is the most braindead). But everyone is ignoring how we've largely eliminated regular lead exposure that used to be the norm. that shit makes you go fucking insane.

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 20 points 7 months ago

I don't like the way policing has turned many first world countries into semi-police states ... being a person of colour (like me) automatically makes you questionable with the law no matter what you're doing. I know from experience.

But after saying all that, mass murderers and killers are probably lesser now because of better policing, mass surveillance, intercommunications, mass data collection, profiling, forensic science and monitoring. It's a lot harder now than in was in the 60s, 70s or 80s for a random stranger to wander from place to place committing murders and not getting caught. It doesn't mean it's not possible ... it's just that in our day in age of technology, it's a lot harder.

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[–] III@lemmy.world 42 points 7 months ago (3 children)

In the book Freakonomics they made the argument that the sudden decline in crime in the late 90's appeared to be tied to Roe v. Wade. I wonder if this is similar.

[–] sleepmode@lemmy.world 25 points 7 months ago

A large percentage of serial killers suffered from childhood abuse and trauma. Kids in the foster system are often abused and traumatized. I can see it.

[–] mightyfoolish@lemmy.world 24 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

I thought you were being sarcastic but there is a book called Freakonomics and it does suggest as you said. Check the "Criticism" section for details.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freakonomics

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[–] taanegl@lemmy.world 39 points 7 months ago

Western society was unclear of whether or not making them executives was a good idea to begin with.

[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 34 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Most crime has declined dramatically since the 90s. And yet right wing media is scaring the shit out of people, saying there are murderers, rapists, and terrorists behind every bush.

The world is actually becoming more empathetic and safer, but some people want us to be scared because fear keeps them in power. Don’t believe them.

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[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 34 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Now they just do mass shootings.

[–] jwt@programming.dev 24 points 7 months ago

parallel killers

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[–] galoisghost@aussie.zone 33 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Interestingly the start of the decline is 1988 which also happens to be the year the seminal Stewart Raffill film Mac and Me was released. Coincidence? I wonder.

[–] Minotaur@lemm.ee 31 points 7 months ago (5 children)

I think the lead poisoning theory is a bit overblown, personally. There’s something to it, but “all the serial killers were just brain damaged” is I think trying to put a very neat little bow around a complex package.

I think a lot of it is simply that it’s harder to get away with murder now. I mean not to make it sound too easy but in 1982 there were a lot of ways to kill someone that basically could not be tracked back to you as long as you weren’t literally seen doing it. People aren’t stupid, they know this, and they change their patterns around it.

Additionally, I’m sure that (potentially as a result of this) we have more spree/mass killings now, and a decent deal of spree killings have a component of sexual frustration to them as many serial killers had.

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[–] Starkstruck@lemmy.world 29 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Reduction in lead exposure plays a huge part.

[–] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago

The lead generation is currently running the country (that I live in). It shows.

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[–] hex_m_hell@slrpnk.net 29 points 7 months ago

I wonder how many of them just got badges.

[–] MNByChoice@midwest.social 27 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Lots of great possibilities listed in article.

I was shocked that 60% of murders are solved. It was not that long ago that the solving rate was near 20%.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Tracking people is so much easier now I think.

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[–] Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 24 points 7 months ago (1 children)
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[–] CoCo_Goldstein@lemmy.world 24 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Could it be that not as many potential serial killers are being born? I believe there is a link between criminality and childhood abuse. Less unwanted kids are being born. Less abuse. Less criminals of all kinds, including serial killers.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I think also it's because it's just people are so easily tracked now.

[–] minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago (3 children)

CSI type pop culture television has taught basically everyone on the planet that trace evidence always gets left behind and nobody can hide from DNA. Nowadays through genealogy they don't even need a direct DNA match.

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[–] anticurrent@sh.itjust.works 23 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

They have joined the military or private military companies since. they can kill as much as they like with complete impunity, in many wars like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Palestine and Gaza, plus it's brown people they are killing so they feel triple the reword, society is fine with that as long as it who they view as the enemy who's the subject of their carnal instincts.

You can't convince me that the image of the horrors committed by the IDF in Gaza and the US military aren't of psychopaths having a blast paid for by their own societies.

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[–] sjkhgsi@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Sounds to me like there's a serial serial killer killer on the loose!!

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[–] gothic_lemons@lemmy.world 20 points 7 months ago

War on drugs shifted police focus from real crimes, to you guessed it, drugs. I bet some serial killers go under the radar due to shitty police work.

"Nah those murders aren't related, let's go do a no knock raid on shitty evidence. Maybe plant some drugs? That always cheers ya up Captain!" - Cops, probably

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 18 points 7 months ago (1 children)

But podcasts about them have rapidly increased

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[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 16 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Besides what they listed in the article, I would add lead exposure.

It's a short read, pretty good.

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[–] numberfour002@lemmy.world 15 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Not me! Back in the 1980s I had killed 0 people. Now in 2024, I've killed pretty much the same number. No decline at all!

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