Theories Of Moral Panic

Identify and explore the notion that moral panics and subsequent deviancy amplification arises out of fundamental changes in social structure and culture.

“A moral panic is an intense feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order” (Jones, M, and Jones, E. 1999). Regularly distinguished as incidents or chapters throughout history, moral panics are usually prompted by media stories being blown out of proportion to create headlines and sell the papers. These headlines are then backed up by the police and other authorities being pressured to make examples of the deviant parties and take unnecessary actions. There have been many examples of moral panics over the years from which hunting to brainwashing
2011). Anything that can be conceived or manipulated by the media and then defined by facts and opinions as a menace to society is deemed a moral panic. Society and culture will continue to grow and change, that is a fundamental certainty, and the future will always be unknown, therefore leading to a continued era of frequent and inevitable moral panics. The media and access to information is more prominent now than ever before, the constant media hype is what leads to a moral panic and this cycle will continue meaning as a society we are stuck in a persistent media induced panic. It is mainly Stanley Cohen’s Moral Panics and Folk Devils: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers (2002), which studies the terror stricken social reactions to deviance and the impact this has on establishing both deviant and tolerated behaviours, providing the subsequent definition of moral panic that is now greatly accepted with most academics and researchers. In Cohen’s original book from 1972, he describes at length the social response to deviance. Sometimes, societies are subjected to periods of moral panic.
Jock Young focuses more on the media hype and the way culture shifts are defined by the media and critics as a cycle. The increasing number of reports surrounding antisocial behaviour and other culture changes that are perceived adverse leads to a moral panic. The term deviancy amplification was coined by Leslie Wilkins to explain this phenomenon (Wilkins, L. 1964). The initial problem stems from structural and cultural changes; the amplification that follows is when dramatic media reporting of deviant behaviours inadvertently intensifies panics creating social problems by presenting the social structure and culture changes theatrically and abruptly. The intense media coverage can very quickly contrive a so called ‘moral panic’ about a certain threat to societal values. It is therefore Young’s opinion that to a degree, moral panics arise from the media and social reaction rather than fundamental changes in social structure and culture. Young argues that during moral panics media coverage doesn’t just provoke fear amongst communities but also contributes to the general construction of the problem in the first