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I'm going to bet that technology in general has a whole lot to do with it. I remember all the trouble people got into because they were just out and about with

I'm going to bet that technology in general has a whole lot to do with it. I remember all the trouble people got into because they were just out and about with nothing to do. Having a cellphone gives you instant access to something you are interested in regardless of what it is and can be used acceptably if there is any downtime.

nostromo 8y ago
I agree. Phones are now the opiate of the masses. I remember how I used to get anxious or annoyed or bored waiting for the train or waiting for the ATM or in line at the grocery store. Now I just pull out my phone and drone out on Instagram.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  Phones are now the opiate of the masses. Outrage mobbing might well be an application of this metaphorical "opiate" for a large minority of the public.
matthewdgreen 8y ago
It’s true that the second major dropoff (especially in the SF numbers) appears around the time smartphones came along. But the real peak and initial descent started in the 1990s, which is long before smartphones, and even very early for dumbphones (which don’t seem like they’d prevent gang violence, in any obvious way anyway.) There’s a similar peak and plunge in the 90s for virtually every type of violent crime, nationwide.
- groestl 8y ago
  So, PCs?
  - derefr 8y ago
    The type of people who commit major crimes are the least likely to own a computer. Especially back in the 90s. So that wouldn't help explain much.
    - groestl 8y ago
      I know there are potentially lots of other confounding variables (like socioeconomic status), but would that kind of correlation not support the thesis? I know that me and my friends did much fewer stupid things as soon as we got a computer and internet.
      - derefr 8y ago
        No, I meant it specifically causally. As in, the people who commit crimes are the last group to catch up to technological trends. So technological trends cannot be used to explain sudden shifts (= coincident to the new technology) in the behavior of that group.
- dontbenebby 8y ago
  That's around the time you started being able to do most of your major shopping by credit card. (Grocery stores, department stores)
- Izkata 8y ago
  Which perfectly correlates with popular violent video games: https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Murder_Simulators_5524.jpg https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Murder_Simulat...

nostromo 8y ago

I agree. Phones are now the opiate of the masses. I remember how I used to get anxious or annoyed or bored waiting for the train or waiting for the ATM or in line at the grocery store. Now I just pull out my phone and drone out on Instagram.

stcredzero 8y ago
Phones are now the opiate of the masses. Outrage mobbing might well be an application of this metaphorical "opiate" for a large minority of the public.

matthewdgreen 8y ago

It’s true that the second major dropoff (especially in the SF numbers) appears around the time smartphones came along. But the real peak and initial descent started in the 1990s, which is long before smartphones, and even very early for dumbphones (which don’t seem like they’d prevent gang violence, in any obvious way anyway.) There’s a similar peak and plunge in the 90s for virtually every type of violent crime, nationwide.

groestl 8y ago
So, PCs?
- derefr 8y ago
  The type of people who commit major crimes are the least likely to own a computer. Especially back in the 90s. So that wouldn't help explain much.
  - groestl 8y ago
    I know there are potentially lots of other confounding variables (like socioeconomic status), but would that kind of correlation not support the thesis? I know that me and my friends did much fewer stupid things as soon as we got a computer and internet.
    - derefr 8y ago
      No, I meant it specifically causally. As in, the people who commit crimes are the last group to catch up to technological trends. So technological trends cannot be used to explain sudden shifts (= coincident to the new technology) in the behavior of that group.
dontbenebby 8y ago
That's around the time you started being able to do most of your major shopping by credit card. (Grocery stores, department stores)
Izkata 8y ago
Which perfectly correlates with popular violent video games: https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Murder_Simulators_5524.jpg https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Murder_Simulat...