The expanding reach of digital streaming platforms has increased sustained exposure to crime-based entertainment, raising concerns regarding its role in shaping behavioural regulation and psychological functioning. Despite widespread consumption, limited research has examined how such mediated stimuli influence behaviour among marginalized youth populations. This study investigates the behavioural and cognitive effects of digital crime dramas on male tribal adolescents in Bero Block, Ranchi district, Jharkhand, a socio-culturally distinct environment. Employing a qualitative research design and in-depth interviews, the study explores processes of social learning, reinforcement, cognitive schema formation, and self-regulation associated with media consumption. Findings indicate elevated anxiety, heightened distrust, increased behavioural vigilance, and modified risk appraisal, reflecting patterns of behavioural conditioning and adaptive self-monitoring. The results emphasize the moderating role of cultural and environmental contexts in behaviour management and offer implications for youth behavioural interventions, media governance, and organizationally informed approaches to psychological regulation...
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