Moral Panic

DIFFUSING MORAL PANIC EVENTS The term moral panic is used to define events of amplified public reaction to a particular situation (Cohen, 2002). It is a social phenomenon characterized by the collective overreaction to an event, such as a crime, that is new or has been present long enough and suddenly sprouted (Cohen, 2002; Goode & Ben-Yehuda, 1994). According to Cohen (2005) moral panics do not date or, in other words, its generation is similar regardless of the time period and the place. Stanley Cohen defined and examined the creation of moral panics in subclasses and minorities, which he called ‘clusters of social identity’, such as young working class violent males, which emerged because of youth culture causing deviant behavior (Cohen,
Therefore, frustration on society’s failed norms and values can be compensated by deviant behavior, which provides a sense of respect and new values (Cohen, 1955). As with crime, these events are media driven (Hunt, 1997). Mass media or interest-groups are mostly in charge of the diffusion of moral panic events (Cohen, 2002). Cohen (2002) believed that media presented moral panics in a fashionable and stylized manner, which was managed by government, politicians and editors. In fact, research has shown that the words and the examples that media reports use to describe a deviance can influence the perception of the general public on that event (Young, 2008). Moreover, the use of sensationalism and selective reporting can lead to exaggeration and misinterpretation of the actual event (Brown, 1996). This essay will analyze the role of media in the generation of moral panic in young, working class, violent males by examining
As the police report was released and the public’s reaction to violent video games and young, unemployed males was risen, the article reported by the CBS draws the attention to the public on the real existence between the motivation of the criminal and his activities (Jaslow, 2013). The article argues how authorities and some experts did not have enough evidence to establish a link between the offender and the use of violent video games or the fact that the individual did experience some life trauma and frustrations prior to the crime (Jaslow, 2013). It further warns the reader on how to interpret police and general authorities’ statements from media sources (Jaslow, 2013). As shown above, media’s role in the reporting of the shooting and developments of the cases did showed influence on public’s reactions and opinions. However, when analysing the nature of the crime and the motivations of the shooter, there is no evidence to believe that Cohen (1955) theory on why violent males commit crime is the cause of these deviant behaviour. Ongoing research on children and young males affected by frustration, mental health issues or lack of opportunities has shown that there might be an increased risk of becoming an offender but it is not significant evidence or predictor of future offenders (Shalloo,