I was in my 8 a.m. class, watching the girl in front of me scroll through her TikTok. There was a slow-motion hair flick, a smirk aligned with the beat of “Blame It on the Rain” and bright red text flickered on the screen. She appeared entranced by an edit of clips from Ryan Murphy’s latest Netflix special “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” 

Editors of TikTok thirst traps try to play on the attractive appearance of characters by splicing clips to create a narrative that doesn’t fully represent the reality of their crimes. The focus on looks taps into young people’s fascination with attractive personas, overshadowing their dark behaviors and leading the public to glorify criminals or problematic characters to the point of being desensitized. 

But these edits or “romanticizations” don’t just stay on our screens. They have made their way into pop culture, with the film industry, social media and young people focusing more on the attractiveness or sensationalism of the characters than their stories. I remember that when I was wandering the streets on Halloween in 2022, there were countless Jeffrey Dahmer-inspired outfits after the release of “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Dressing as Dahmer was all the rage — to the point that eBay banned all listings of any costumes related to the serial killer — which made me feel disgusted at people’s blatant disregard for Dahmer’s victims and their suffering. They were forced to relive the violent crimes every time a teenage trick-or-treater knocked on their door clad in a blonde wig, orange prison suit and sunglasses, all because the media neatly boxed him into an attractive package and sold it to youth as entertainment.

The glorification of killers can be traced back to Ted Bundy, a name known worldwide for his extreme charisma and sinister crimes. His trial was the first to be nationally televised, which allowed people around the United States to actually see his face. Young women found him so attractive that they would show up outside the courthouse with signs proclaiming their love. In the 2019 hit show “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” Zac Efron — an actor who was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2017 — played Bundy. And as such, when my classmates were tasked with discussing the psyche behind serial killers in my high school AP Psychology class, we instead spent most of the class talking about Bundy’s charming and desirable nature. “Extremely Wicked” was overshadowed by Efron himself — he was even nicknamed “Hot Ted Bundy.” And my generation helped feed this narrative by embracing the romanticized portrayal and engaging with it on social media.

Youth are the main contributors to this disturbing trend. Our attention spans have decreased as social media platforms have shortened content and emphasized quick, engaging visuals. The phenomenon has resulted in a heightened interest in genres that won’t lose our focus within the first 10 minutes. Violence and sexuality amass curiosity — and so it is the combination of the two that makes “sexy” serial killers so apparently appealing. Ultimately, this intrigue often shifts the focus on criminals from justice and awareness to entertainment.

But Generation Z has the power to break this cycle by shifting our approach to consuming such entertainment. We must honor victims and survivors instead of uplifting the characters who robbed them of their well-being. If we are the primary consumers, we hold the power to demand ethical storytelling.

Ava Hurwitz, a first-year majoring in international affairs, is an opinions writer.