Enorah, interesting theory, I’m not going to debate it because I still haven’t figured out the universe so anything can be true.

I do thing the other posters (Noastra, doofrat, DWCAP, duke, et. al.) are correct, it isn’t what is happening, it is how much you know. I love hearing from people on how they think their particular community has gone to hell in the last ten or twenty years because they know too much now and are bombarded with information. Truth it, for the most part, the crime rates in whatever place you live is probably half of what it was in your perception of the “good old days.”

The media does have one positive side effect, it has served to warn people, people are much more cautious with what they leave out, where their children are and what they do. Technology has eliminated some crimes (how often do you hear about muggings and pick pockets, identity theft has replaced it and is less violent) and cell phones and the proliferation of cheap cameras and cell cameras and DNA has made it harder for crooks to get away with things. The fact that you can go on the internet and see who the sex offenders are and where they live has a tendacy to make people feel less safe, but in reality they are better off for knowing, the blissful days of ignorance are over.