However, this has been true for as long as news reporting has existed, but the level of paranoia and isolation in society has not always been as high as it is now (although there have been similar periods in the past).

I don't think that the nature of media reporting, while likely a factor, is a sufficient explanation.

There's also social media though, which amplifies everything for people who believe what they consume through those channels.

They would claim that all the paranoia, helicopter parenting, incarceration, worked to reduce crime

They can claim it, but all the objective evidence says they're wrong.