The largest generation of disaffected teens and young adults in history- many of them combat veterans with unresolved trauma finding themselves on the fringe of society- with fewer electronic distractions and more of an inclination to be a part of something born to a generation of parents themselves psychologically effected by the most cataclysmic war in history, economic restructuring including suburbanization and the reemergence of German and Japanese industry beginning to hurt select members of the working class (urban black people were the first to get hit with layoffs and obviously urban decay), proliferation of drugs and reemergence of cocaine. The Great Society programs, intended to be a preventative measure for problems like crime, were strained by the economic stresses of Vietnam and the Space Race and the irreconcilability of capitalism's profit motive with welfare. As for the prominence of serial killers, though they and their media attention were more of a '70s and '80s phenomenon:
Serial killing was especially prominent during that time due to urbanization and relative affluence (harder to be Michael Myers when you're busy fighting World Wars/Korea/Vietnam, working over 40 hours a week, or dead from Polio), and stories circulated more due to advancements in communications technology (TV). [...] The number of active serial killers in the country peaked in 1989 and has trended downward ever since: less frequent use of parole, improved forensic technology, more cautious parenting, and as with other violent crimes, the first post-Baby Boom generation coming of age.
