The significant and fundamental stage in understanding the complexity of a research topic is the construction of a theoretical framework for the investigation. There are various media effect theories, such as the Uses and Gratifications Theory, Cultivation Theory, and Social Learning Theory, which can assist in identifying the influence of Indian reality crime shows on young students of Khulna University.

The Uses and gratifications theory (UGT) is a method for determining how individuals consciously seeking out various media to meet specific desires. Uses and gratifications theory is a method of comprehending mass communication that is oriented on the viewers.

UGT explores how users purposefully select media to meet certain goals such as advancement of knowledge, pleasure, social interactions/companionship, distraction, or escapism (Ansari & Khan, 2020) . This objectivist communication theory is built on the socio-psychological communicative heritage and concentrates on communications at the mass media platform. The uses and gratifications theory are concerned with determining why individuals use various sorts of media, what requirements they have for them, and what enjoyment they derive from utilizing them. Historically, the notion was initially offered in the 1940s to explain why individuals choose to absorb the many types of media that were available at the time.

According to the Uses and gratifications theory, Khulna University students watch reality crime shows for pleasure, company, distraction, or escape. They take an active role in media choices, selecting TV stations and programming. In this study, how youths use the media for entertainment and other reasons, get used to it, and how it also influences their lives is discussed.

Cultivation is a sociocultural theory that examines how television influences individuals’ perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and values (Gerbner & Gross, 1976) . The basic concept of cultivation theory is that those individuals who watch television are more likely to acquire the underlying messages. The more youths watch television, the more they will have ideas that are congruent with the world as it is depicted on television. George Gerbner first described cultivation theory in the late 1960’s while studying television’s influence on viewers. The basic premise is that people’s perceptions about the reality of the real world are shaped by the social reality portrayed on television. In addition to general perceptions, television can also cultivate certain expectations, assumptions, and behaviors within the viewer (Gerbner et al., 1980) . The term “cultivate” refers to a nonvisible process which can be subtle, complex, and intermingled with other influences, it is not the same as the word “effects” (Gerbner, 1998) . This means that the viewer comes to adopt or believe what is shown on television instead of simply being affected on a surface level. This study found that watching these reality crime shows caused changes in the youngsters’ thoughts, lifestyle modifications, and psychological repercussions. It demonstrates how realistic media programming influences the perspective and thinking of today’s youth.

This research was conducted at Khulna University of Bangladesh. The area is purposefully selected, and in order to reach the purposefully chosen participants, it uses the recommendations of the participants who recommend further qualified participants. Khulna University has 8 schools, 29 disciplines, and 1 institution. To complete the study, all Khulna University schools, disciplines, and institutions were used.

This study discovered the influence of reality crime shows on undergraduate Khulna University students. As a result, the population of this study is comprised of all the 4538 undergraduate students in year 2021 at Khulna University (aged between 18 and 25 as define before).

To examine and complete the study smoothly, field data has been collected from 100 undergraduate students from Khulna University (aged between 18 and 25 as define before) purposively by snowball sampling method. As the samples of the study must be a viewer of reality crime show. As this is qualitative research on students, the number of the sample has been narrowed down to 100 for proper analysis as it required. Khulna University has a total of 4538 undergraduate students in the year 2021.

The sample area was selected on purpose. The researcher chose the purposive sampling method and the snowball sampling method to quickly find eligible participants who watch, are attached to, and are inspired by these Indian reality crime shows.

Two sampling methods have been used in this research.

Purposive sampling of primary studies for inclusion in the synthesis is one way of achieving a manageable amount of data (Ames et al., 2019) . Purposive sampling is the systematic selection of a participant based on the attributes the individual possesses. It is a non-random approach that does not require underlying hy potheses or a certain quantity of participants. Simply said, the researcher determines what needs to be discussed and then sets out to discover people who can and are willing to exchange the information based on their expertise or experience (Etikan, 2016) .

Snowball sampling is a well-known convenient sampling technique that identifies unseen and vulnerable participants. Snowball sampling is a well-known, nonprobability form of study sample selection that is frequently used to find hidden individuals. This strategy is based on recommendations from the original sample population to additional people thought to exhibit the desired feature (Johnson, 2014) .

The results were obtained from respondents using qualitative research methodologies. An appropriate questionnaire, containing both closed-ended and open-ended questions, was created in order to collect information directly from respondents. There were 47 items in the questionnaire which was design by the authors following the literature reviews of previous studies. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 students who watch these programs on a regular basis, on occasion, or who stopped watching them because they were harmful. The goal of this study was to see how much anxiety the shows generated in the audience’s thoughts about society.

An in-depth interview was performed as a data collection technique. Because in-depth interviews are the best way to do qualitative research. In order to obtain information directly from respondents, a suitable questionnaire with both closed-ended and open-ended questions was constructed. The questionnaire was given to 100 eligible participants.

The percentage of responses is presented in a pie chart ( Figure 1 ) for better understanding.

A respondent from social science school mentioned, “My elder sister and younger brother love to watch Indian reality crime shows. I started watching with them when I was 19 years old.”

Among 100 respondents, 30% said that they watch reality crime shows for entertainment purposes. 20% of the respondents watch reality crime shows for time passing, 18% of them for personal satisfaction, 22% of them for gaining educational knowledge, and the rest, 10% of the total respondents watch Indian reality crime shows for other reasons.

The responses are presented in a pie chart ( Figure 2 ) for easy understanding. One of the respondents mentioned that, “Indian reality crime shows are the best

way to spend quality time.” Another student from Sociology discipline mentioned that Indian reality crime shows are entertaining and educative too.

A large number of respondents’ majority (70%) mentioned that they don’t watch Bangladeshi crime reality shows. One of the respondents mentioned that he doesn’t have much time to watch those where he used to watch Indian shows regularly. The 70% respondents who don’t prefer Bangladeshi crime shows also mentioned some other reasons for not watching Bangladeshi reality crime shows. As mentioned in Table 1 , 28% of the respondents discussed the stories and concepts of Bangladeshi crime reality shows, and they said the quality of their concept is quite low. 10% of them said they don’t prefer Bangladeshi crime reality shows because of their poor content according to 15% of respondents, most Bangladeshi crime reality shows are documentary-style, and they prefer cinematic shows over documentary-style shows. 17% of respondents said that the video efficiency, framing, camera angle, exposer, light, etc. are not of good quality in Bangladeshi crime shows.

The responses are presented in a table ( Table 1 ) and bar char ( Figure 3 ) for easy understanding.

A female respondent from Statistics Discipline mentioned that, “Bangladeshi shows are not interesting. Most of them are boring because of a lack of editing and showing the raw videos.”

Another respondent said that “I don’t feel anything entertaining about them besides the fact that they are not fictional and well presented.” A student from Bangla discipline discussed about their low-quality video and poor story concept.

One respondent said that “Bangladeshi crime reality shows contain a lot of mistakes in their making process.” The remaining 30% confirmed that they watch Bangladeshi crime shows.

content, and way of presentation are very interesting and eye-catching, and they present the factual story in a dramatic and cinematic way that makes it more interesting to the audience. The remaining 16% mentioned that Indian shows contain much more adventure and thrillers.

The responses for preferring Indian reality crime shows are presented in a bar chart ( Figure 5 ) for easy understanding. A respondent from Law discipline said that, “Indian reality crime shows have better quality than other countries’ reality crime shows.” Another respondent said that they enjoy the concept and content quality of Indian reality crime shows. A student from MCJ discipline mentioned that “the filming procedure of Indian reality crime shows is skilled and professional, and the camera quality is very outstanding.”

Respondents who participated in this study marked the Indian reality crime show based on their preference. Out of the hundred respondents, 30 of them preferred Indian shows the most, so they marked 5 for the Indian reality crime show. 18 respondents have marked 4 based on their preference. Numbers 3 and 2 were marked by 22 respondents each, and the remaining 8 respondents have marked 1 as mentioned in Table 3 .

The linear scale result on the preferences for Indian reality crime shows is also shown in a 100% stacked column chart ( Figure 6 ) for a better understanding of the trend.

After asking this technical question, if reality crime shows stand out as the best programs among others, 38 out of the total respondents strongly agreed with the hypothesis, and 20 respondents agreed with the hypothesis that Indian reality crime shows are the best programs ever.

The 58% respondents (38% strong agreed-20% agreed) who agreed with the hypothesis, they mentioned some reasons for calling these reality crime shows the best programs ever, they are the best because of their thrilling and adventurous narrative structure, these shows are based on facts from daily life, that is why they are better than other programs, these shows are informative and give information about the hidden problems in our society and also solutions, these shows are educational in gaining a better appreciation of societal issues.

One of them mentioned that she likes to watch them because they are made based on facts from our daily life. A respondent from English discipline mentioned that, “these programs put a spotlight on our society’s hidden social abnormalities.” 22 respondents were not sure about the concept, so they marked it “Neither agree nor disagree”. 16 disagreed with this concept and only 4 respondents strongly disagreed with it.

One respondent from the chemistry discipline mentioned that, “It can show the reality behind the crime scene and deliver the message of awareness.” After asking the question why they prefer reality crime shows even though there are so many entertainment programmes available on TV, the respondents’ said that they like to watch them and they mentioned some reasons. According to 32% of respondents, these shows can be related to real-life incidents. 20% of them stated that these shows highlight the current state of society. 38% respondents said that these shows are raising public awareness towards crime. Remaining 10% respondents mentioned that, these reality crime series are incredibly realistic and fact-based.

When asked about the feature that influenced the respondents’ towards watching reality crime shows, half of the respondents marked option a and that was by choice. As a result, the majority of people who watch reality crime shows on a regular basis do so on their own volition. Out of the remaining 50%, 24% said influence by family, 16% said influence by friends, and the remaining 10% showed other reasons.

In this question, respondents were asked to compile a list of Indian reality crime shows based on their preferences. 45% of the respondents mentioned “Crime Patrol” as their favourite reality crime show. They also mentioned some other kinds of Indian crime reality shows such as CID, Savdhaan India, Adalat, Delhi Crime, etc. in their list of favourite crime reality shows.

After asking what they would feel while watching reality crime shows, 65% of the respondents mentioned their certain feelings at the time of watching these Indian reality crime shows. As mentioned in Table 4 , 27% enjoy the suspense of the show. But 38% loved the emotional aspects more. A respondent from the English discipline cited that, “I can feel the suspense and relate it to real-life incidents.” Some respondents have said that they feel insecure and can’t easily trust everyone after watching these shows, because these shows reveal the illness of our society. A female student from the Sociology discipline has said that, “I could be a victim of any such crime.”

Most of the respondents have said that they watch reality crime shows for entertainment and personal satisfaction. They also mentioned some reasons for preferring Indian reality crime shows. The reasons are presented in a table ( Table 5 ) and bar chart form ( Figure 7 ) for easy reorganization.

A respondent mentioned that, “We can find out what kind of crime is happening

in recent times by watching these shows.” One of the respondents from BBA discipline mentioned that, “But these programs can be a threat to society because the younger generation can learn criminal motives and types by watching them, which can also have a negative impact on them.” Another responder stated that he enjoys watching suspense in these reality crime shows.

Out of 100 respondents, 60% of them said that they notice that there are some changes in their thinking. One respondent cited that, “I have started suspecting all person’s intentions surround me.” Another respondent said that now he is more careful when walking on the street alone ever before even tries to be careful if he is alone at home. The remaining 40% said they didn’t notice any changes in their thinking. The responses are also presented in a Pie chart ( Figure 8 ) for easy understanding.

Respondents mentioned some examples of their changes in thinking after watching a reality crime show. 55 respondents reported feeling insecure after experiencing the risks of living in a community with individuals of various types and personalities. Another 40 respondents stated that they had begun to suspect people for no apparent reason. They also stated that being aware of one’s surroundings is a beneficial trait.

Among 100 respondents’ 87% have said they get changes in their behavior. One respondent has said that she become more conscious around her. A small but very special response I have got from a respondent was “Respect women”. Another respondent said that he maintains extra caution while walking on street or going alone somewhere and also maintain a safe distance from strangers. Remaining 13% said they didn’t notice any changes in their behavior by watching reality crime shows.

These responses are also shown in a pie chart ( Figure 9 ) for better understanding. The respondents who have experienced changes in their behavior also mentioned both positive and negative changes. Table 6 presenting the changes mentioned by the respondents.

In terms of this question one respondent mentioned that “I’m preparing myself to face any kind of situation.” Another respondent said that “I’m aware of social injustice.” Among 100 respondents, 85% of the respondents have said they get changes in their daily life routine or life style. Only 15% of the overall response disagreed with the concept, indicating that watching these crime reality shows had no effect on their lifestyle.

Among 100 respondents, 88% of the have said they didn’t get changes in their educational performance. Only 12% of the total respondents have said that crime shows affect their educational performance & 100% of them mentioned about negative impact. One respondent of them cited that “It kills my valuable time.”

The responses for the impact of reality crime shows on educational performance are also exhibited in a table ( Figure 10 ) for a better comprehension.

Among 100 respondents, the majority (60) agreed with the concept that reality crime shows have an influence on the changing attitudes of young people as

mentioned in Table 7 . The remaining 40 out of the 100 respondents are not sure about the concept, so they marked “Neither agree nor disagree” in terms of this question. But none of the total 100 respondents disagreed with the concept, so the changing attitudes of youths are observed by everyone.

The linear scale result on impact on the changing attitudes of youths is also presented in a table ( Figure 11 ) for better understanding.

In terms of this question, 46 of the 100 respondents agreed with the concept that reality crime shows are influencing young people’s perceptions of crime and society. The remaining 52 respondents provided a neutral answer, but none of these total respondents disagreed with the concept.

The linear scale result on the concept that reality crime shows are influencing youth’s perception towards crime and society is also exhibited in a table ( Table 8 ) for a better comprehension.

about this situation. 59% of the 100 respondents noted some negative aspects, while 41% mentioned some positive aspects.

Positive aspects the respondents mentioned:

Negative aspects the respondents mentioned:

One respondent from Architecture discipline mentioned that, “They get ideas from the crime shows.” Another respondent mentioned, “Positively, many have become cautious about life and become tolerant on parents and siblings.”

One respondent mentioned, “Yes. For example, the Delhi bus rape case. It was pathetic.” When asked if they could relate real-life crime to crime show plots, the majority (75%) of respondents said yes. 25 respondents out of 100 skipped the question, and 58 respondents gave positive answers and the remaining 17 gave negative answers as shown in Figure 13 .

Among the 75 respondents who responded, a variety of explanations were given for the conn action between these reality crimes show stories and real-life crime incidents. 40 respondents stated that they see a connection between the storylines on these reality crime shows and real-life crime occurrences because they are inspired by real incidents. 50 respondents believe that these reality crime shows highlight social inconsistencies. Another 25 respondents believe that these reality crime shows instruct viewers on how to stand up to injustice and make them more accountable.

The reasons are also given in a table ( Table 9 ) and for a better comprehension.

None of the respondents who participated in the study disagreed with the hypothesis that reality crime shows are influencing youngsters to commit crime. The hypothesis was supported by 62 out of the 100 respondents, while 38 of them gave a neutral response as mentioned in Table 10 .

The question was skipped by 12% of the 100 respondents, and 28% disagreed with the hypothesis that reality crime shows influences juvenile delinquency, but 60% (majority) agreed.

These responses are also displayed in a pie chart ( Figure 14 ) for a better comprehension. The hypothesis was supported by 60% (majority) of respondents, who also expressed some concerns about the situation.

The reasons for the respondents’ opinion on reality crime shows connection with increasing juvenile delinquency are presented in a table ( Table 11 ). According to a respondent, most young people are concerned about new activities because their love of adventure, desire to be like heroes in the media, and participation in violent activities makes them more likely to engage in illegal activities.

In response to the hypothesis “who are the top viewers of these reality crime shows”, 61% said female, while the remaining 39% said male which is shown in Figure 15 .

The majority of respondents identified females as the most devoted fans of these reality crime shows, and they also expressed several assumptions. Figure 15 shows that, A substantial majority of respondents (55) stated that because women have more spare time than males, they watch these reality crime shows more than men. 60 respondents stated that most women enjoy suspense. That is the reason they enjoy reality crime shows, as they are full of suspense. Another 58 respondents said that women also enjoy thrills and adventure. Majority (50 respondents) of those who believe women are the biggest viewers of these reality crime shows said that a fact-based storyline makes them emotional. 45 respondents believe that females are more sympathetic to victims than males.

55% of the total respondents were female. The purpose of this component of the research was to determine how domestic violence, which is frequently shown in Indian reality crime shows, impacts women’s psychology. The question was answered by all 55% of the women who participated in this study, all of whom stated that they feel insecure after watching various stories about women being victims of major incidents and 50% of them stated that they had grown more cautious than previously. One of them has said that, “I can’t believe people anymore, and I’m frightened of being alone at home.” Another student stated that she feels insecure while walking or going anywhere alone. One responder from the Architecture discipline stated, “I feel nervous while working with male classmates and even the teachers.”

In response to this question, 56% of all respondents noted that social contradictions

highlighted in these shows assist them in resolving real-life issues. One of them mentioned that “I always keep pepper spray in my bag to ensure safety.” The remaining 44% respondents said no to this question. The 56% of students who noted that reality crime shows demonstrate an understanding of resolving personal problems also mentioned several reasons for this thought. 50 of those who believe that reality crime shows help people to resolve personal problems claim that this is because the shows highlight society’s inconsistencies. According to 48 of them, these performances increase awareness of social injustice. Another 40 stated that they also increase individual self-responsibility. 50 of them assure that these shows also assist to improve the quality of decision-making.

In terms of this hypothesis, 18 of the total respondents strongly disagreed, and 14 respondents disagreed with it, while 39 (majority) gave a neutral response. Of the remaining respondents, 22 agreed and 7 strongly agreed with the hypothesis.

In response to this concept “Reality crime show makes you learn about real life problems and solutions” (majority) 56 people agreed with it and only 16 out of 100 respondents disagreed while 28 of them gave a neutral response. The linear scale outcome on the concept is also presented in the Table 12 for a better understanding.

I put up the hypothesis to know if these reality crime shows have any psychological influence on youths who watch them. 48 out of 100 respondents agreed with the hypothesis that reality crime shows influence their psychology and 14 respondents disagreed with it. A large number of respondents (38) provided a neutral answer.

The linear scale result of the concept if these reality crime shows have any psychological influence on youths is also displayed in a table ( Table 13 ) for a better comprehension.