Mean World Syndrome: Every day, the pages of newspapers are filled with crime news. Somewhere it is murder, somewhere it is robbery and somewhere it is theft. But sometimes such crime news attracts the attention of the people which stays in their mind for a long time. Especially news like mass murder. When new revelations about these come in the media, people get interested.
Experts say that watching too much true crime news in the media can be harmful for mental health. Watching or reading too much news related to real and fictional crime and violence in the media can create the risk of Mean World Syndrome.
What is Mean World Syndrome?
Mean world syndrome is a situation in which someone believes violence and crime to be reality and starts to see the crime scene by engaging himself in it. This has a bad effect on the mind because the mind establishes itself in the crime scene and starts to desire to see it more. The mind gets entangled in the killer’s moves, events and tactics in such crime incidents and starts to imagine the crime by considering itself a detective. Such people read crime documentaries, crime and thriller movies as well as such news with great attention.
Why is this syndrome dangerous?
Doctors say that the worst effect of this state of mind is that the person starts behaving strangely with society. He connects with the scary world of crime to such an extent that he starts seeing fear everywhere. He suspects everyone, sees darkness in every corner and can consider anyone a criminal.
This creates unnecessary fear, anxiety and despair in the mind of the person and he slowly starts getting disconnected from the society. Sometimes such people become overly cautious and start behaving strangely with their family as well. Experts say that after 1990, the trend of showing fantasy crime on TV has increased and people are getting more prone to the Mean World Syndrome.
Disclaimer: Some of the information given in the news is based on media reports. Before implementing any suggestion, please consult the concerned expert.
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