Is the Perception of Safety Changing, or is it the Media That Changes the Way We Inform Ourselves?

Could the real problems in Europe be not only those we see on local TV, masquerading as news programs, but also those we do not easily see—issues hidden from the public and concealed within information that is difficult to access? 

I was visiting my parents-in-law who are already retired, and they watched the TV show every day, all day. And I saw that all the programs available on TV were shows that talked only about crimes, and I started to look at them curiously because we had been talking all day about one crime and another crime from different cities, and in other cases, also other countries in Europe. It made me wonder if there is a real problem regarding security, and why. Are the local media talking only about this kind of problem?

I started a little research about it, and I think the way to expose the problems is more sensationalist.

But the most important question that comes to my mind: Is security one of the most important problems in the European Union?

Is there more violence than there was before, or is there a kind of coverage regarding what the real problems are in the world?

Everything has a price, and these kinds of content sell, which is why it is easy to put them on the local TV all day, I guess. But why are they not informing us about the economy and world news, as what is happening in the Middle East or Africa, in Sudan or Palestine, for example, where there is ethnic cleansing?

It is a long study that requires a lot of time and a lot of information to confirm that the media says that the number of crimes has been increasing in the last years. I saw the information available in Eurostat, and it is not really more than in other years. In Sweden, for example, it has been less than 20 percent in the last 3 years, or in other cases in France, where reports of rape have increased in the last three years by more than 20 percent.

But the population is increasing, and the crimes are the same. That means there are no real increases as I see.

That confirms my initial idea that there are the most important arguments to inform the population, but they are not taken by the media.

It is a kind of manipulation or is only because of marketing.

In Europe, as we already started to talk, there are many problems to get through,

Unemployment, housing costs, education, healthcare, energy prices, climate change, defense spending, inflation and the cost of living, immigration and asylum, and much more.

But wouldn't all the issues previously listed actually be the root cause of what leads to criminal acts? Would it be too complicated to try to solve them, rather than spending entire afternoons with the pundits who fill our TV screens discussing why so-and-so committed a particular crime? We should focus our attention on educational issues—which may well lie at the heart of many problems—as well as on social inclusion and the lack of support for needy families who find no other recourse but to turn to crime.

Many of the more populated cities in Europe have more crime of any type due to drugs and robberies, but that is because, for many people who live in a situation on the streets, there is no real choice for finding a job. Also, people who are looking for the European dream that never comes true have to wait a long time before getting a document, and after that, they have to learn the language and also learn some skills to start working.

I don't believe that the problems are the immigrants; human beings have recorded migrations since the dawn of time. And places like Babylon or New York in the modern era are a nest of cultures because of that phenomenon.

There are many other problems related to bureaucracy, corruption, embezzlement of funds, and misdistribution of resources that would be better discussed all day on local TV.

Perhaps by delving deeper and genuinely providing information on the possibilities for creating new or better solutions to the real problems facing today's society, offering a knowledge base that truly fulfills the purpose of informing, educating, and helping people form their own judgment.

I am exhausted by hearing my in-laws, full of anger and racial hatred, always looking for someone to blame, much like the programs they watch every day, which masquerade as news shows but do nothing but confuse and distract from the real underlying issues.