Why Do We Like Looking At Mug Shots?
newyorker.com
On the New Yorker's culture blog, Avi Steinberg dissects websites that are devoted to collecting mug shots, chalking their popularity up to our inherent desire to gossip about our neighbors: "At first glance, the online culture of mug-shot voyeurism would seem to be the logical extension of our eternal quest for celebrity cellulite. As it turns out, though, celebrity Schadenfreudians are minor players on the mug-shot scene. The most popular sites peddle a more homely stock: the disgraced images of our until recently anonymous neighbors."