CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Popular apps could make you believe crime is rampant.
Let's connect the dots
Nextdoor and Citizen are two popular apps where folks often post about local crime, but it's not always a good thing.
Researchers from the University of Houston found when people read about a crime, they start to think crime is rampant in their area, even when it's not.
Psychologists looked and found folks who used the apps perceived local crime rates to be higher than people not on the platforms. The root of the problem could be human nature.
It's a lot easier for our brains to absorb a story from a friend or neighbor than statistical analysis of crime rates. Another issue is how social media algorithms work as they tend to prioritize content on your feed that gets a lot of interactions.
A post about a break-in is probably going to get a bigger reaction, making you more likely to see the post about crime.
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