Moral Panics Essay

838 Words4 Pages
Introduction • Definition of “Moral panic” Main body • Origins of the term “Moral panic” • Various types and examples of “Moral panics” • Moral panics and the media • Beneficial examples of “Moral panic” Conclusion • Harmful examples of “Moral panic” Moral panic The meaning of moral panic is a reaction of fear, anger or disapproval from a group of people that is created on a false impression or an emphasized perception, where cultural comportment is dangerously different and fakes a hazard to civilization. It has also been generally explained as a condition, episode, a person or a group of persons that has been defined as a threat for the sake of social interests. These are the side effects of the disagreements that put together arguments and social uncertainties, or sometimes cannot be that easily discussed, for some moral panics may also be forbidden to many people because of different cultures. The description of the reaction of a group of people as a moral panic involves the belief of the group’s abilities to understand the true nature that are unfounded or over emphasized. These civil reactions are mostly provoked by the media or false information around a social issue, and sometimes it can happen that unplanned moral panics also occur. The origin of the term moral panic has been founded by Stanely Cohen in 1972 to describe media coverage of Mods and Rockers in the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Most of the time moral panics come out of nowhere, they are continuously, rise rapidly and have a short life, unless when sometimes a few politicians or some features of the media arise, then the life cycle is lengthened. Moral panics must be reported, they are valid for the media material, where it sells television time and newspapers, and where in most cases it is typical to involve classical media themes such as “the victim” and
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