Moral Panic in a 21st Century Context

First coined by criminologist Jock Young, moral panic can be defined simply as the task of creatingnwidespread concern within a society through the use of media and by people who hold a high status of power such as politicians.According to Critcher (2008), there are three dimensions of moral panic: identifiable process of definition, marking of a moral boundary and the creation of discourse at a various number of levels. However, there are obviously concerns regarding how moral panics affect modern day society, especially with rise of new media sources such as social media applications. One topic which has been centralised to concern of society of the idea of drug abuse which has been focused on since the 1970s. This is a topic which has been analysed by the likes of Cohen and Jewkes.

Deviancy Amplification is the sociological phenomenon that suggests when deviance is present within society, two structures work together to create a news story and to spread moral panic. This amplifying cycle begins with controlling culture, from either a police report or a news story. This story will then be exaggerated to the public to create an awareness and to warn them to stay away from the issue causing moral panic. This is then passed to a significant culture, such as social media. This story has a possibility of already being exaggerated to the public to create awareness and to stay away from the deviance. This exaggerated statement is then passed on to the significant culture, known as tabloid media. (Hall et al, 1978). The global issue of excessive drug abuse is key in understanding how online news sources create deviancy amplification and moral panic in order to terrify and worry parents into letting their children be independent in case they make the wrong decisions, and take something that could be fatal.

An example of this is from a 2012 case study, when a fifteen year old girl was at an unsupervised house party and consumed a number of pills and an unknown white powder, which led to strange behaviour and her death. Davies, (2012) identified the dangers of taking drugs and going to unsupervised parties which shows that if you allow your child to go somewhere alone, you will lose them to drugs. The main point to come from this type of moral panic is that if you take drugs, you will die, especially if you are a young person who is being forced to take these by a peer who is older and supposed to be responsible. The media shows situations of this person being alone and vulnerable as being the fault of parents and that you must look after your children at all times, or you will lose them to evil ‘drug pushers’, as shown by Cohen. The main focus of deviance amplification is to choose if it is relevant, newsworthy or interesting enough for the public to consume.

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In Folk Devils and Moral Panics (Cohen, 1972) it was highlighted that the media has a role of manipulating public behaviours to be outside acceptable norms in society, the creation of the moral panic label means that the significance has been exaggerated with more serious problems. This was inspired by the idea of labelling theory. Cohen’s process model showed that emphasis would focus on when problems occurred and were given a name by the news media, the way the media stereotypes those ‘in the wrong’ and experts are asked to give their opinion regarding this topic. The topic is then analysed and laws are implemented in an attempt to calm society and stop panic. For example, the introduction of the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Bill, which was presented as a solution to the issues that happened in Clacton regarding Mods and Rockers and drugs in the 1960s. Cohen’s model can be criticised to needing an update. Due to new media sources, it has made it “impossible to rely on the old models with their stages and cycles.” (Cohen, 1995)

Cohen in 2002 then identified seven clusters of social identity which moral panics tend to belong to. An example of this is: ‘wrong drugs.’ These are used by wrong people at wrong places, drug use is perceived as an interaction between evil crush pushers and a defenceless user forcing them from ‘soft’ to ‘hard’ drugs. This shows the process of moral panics tending to be ordinary issues that end up serving as a warning to real dangers in society. The media has the role within society is to maintain stability, however, it is also responsible for change.

Jewkes created then disproved five propositions regarding moral panic. She highlighted six issues: two familiar and two which widen debate regarding moral panics. The final two look at the idea that the moral panic has been spread as far as it can be and the issues that young people can be a main focus. These are flaws with moral panic analysis, however, it shouldn’t be rejected as invalid concerning analysing moral panic. This needs careful reconstruction to provide a ‘conceptual basis. (Jewkes, 2004)

The lesson for present day society is simple: moral panics should be conceptualised as forms of discourse. This analysis shows the ways of speaking about problems are created and constructed to replace other problematic behaviour within society. (Mills, 2004) Discursive formations control the right for who should speak on certain issues and who has the right to control what happens whilst a moral panic occurs. What is common between modern issues? They all pose risks to individuals in society. (Lupton, 1999) In a 21st century context, drug issues can be seen as a centralised part of moral panics created by the media. Cohen’s ideas of moral panics been a condition that affects society as they react to new forms of behaviour will always be an important way to view how moral panic affects society, however, with the rise of social medias, it can be said that Jewkes ideas of moral panics are more relatable by today’s standards. Drug abuse relating to young people is a massive concern for society.

Bibliography

1. Cohen, S. (1972) Folk Devils And Moral Panics. 1st ed. London: MacGibbon and Kee.
2. Cohen, S. (1995) State Crimes of Previous Regimes: Knowledge, Accountability, and the Policing of the Past. Law & Social Inquiry. Vol.20(01), pp.7-50. Available: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-4469.1995.tb00681.x[Accessed: 3 March 2019].
3. Cohen, S, (2002). Folk Devils and Moral Panics 3rd ed. London, UK: Routledge
4. Critcher, C. (2008) Moral Panics And The Media. 1st ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
5. Davies, C. (2012) Girl, 15, Who Died After Ecstasy Overdose Told Her Friends Not To Call Ambulance. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/aug/01/isobel-jones-reilly-inquest-ecstasy-party[Accessed: 2 March 2019].
6. Hall, S., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T., Clarke, J. and Roberts, B. (1978) Policing The Crisis: Mugging, The State And Law And Order. 1st ed. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
7. Jewkes, Y. (2004). Media and Crime 1st Ed Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
8. Lupton, D. (1999) Risk And Sociocultural Theory. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9. Mills, S. (2004) Discourse. 1st ed. London: Routledge.