From shows like Bad Vegan and the Tinder Swindler to podcasts like Sweet Bobby, we seem irresistibly drawn to tales of duplicity and deceit. But what’s the allure?
, so it’s more conflicted.”Nor can audiences reassure themselves that they’re watching the stuff of fantasy. Because predominantly, these stories are either docuseries or, like, fictionalised versions of real-life situations, where often victims are still reeling from their financial or emotional loss .
Along with empathy, there’s undeniably a schadenfreude element to it, adds mental health therapist Zoë Clews. “Many people are prone to schadenfreude, where comfort or happiness is gained from seeing misfortune befall others. This makes the voyeuristic nature of scam narratives hugely appealing to a certain section of the global community.
In any case, it’s not just the scam victims we feel drawn to. It’s also the scammers – and this can at times make for compelling self knowledge, according to Worthy. “What can be helpful, I think, is to recognise there's a bit of the scammer and a bit of the scammed in each of us. You can watch, say,, and gawk at the predator’s evil and roll your eyes at the victim’s naïveté. And that’s part of the show’s appeal.
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