Moral Panics

"Moral panics are expressions of disapproval, condemnation, or criticism, that arise every now and then to phenomenon, which could be defined as deviant" - Stanley Cohen

Those who instigate them, or who are to have seen to have instigated them are "folk devils". 

Cohen states that "The media are carriers of moral panics, which they either initiate themselves, or they carry the message of other groups. We see things about unmarried mothers, failing schools, the current crisis about children in care. These are all distinguishable moral panics, and the argument is that the reaction to deviance inflates and increases these groups" 

Cohen first wrote about Moral Panics when analysing the 1960's seafront clashes between the two youth subcultures, the mods and the rockers, but arguably this is one of the ways in which the collective representation of youth has stayed consistent throughout history and the present. 

Some examples of supposed moral panics from history, include hysteria over AIDS, Video Games, 'Video Nasties' Films, Heavy Metal Music, Drugs, and Dace Music. 

"The moral part is the condemnation and social disapproval, and the panic is the element of hysteria and over reaction. Which subsequently can be applied to all sorts of waves of phenomenon. It is largely created by the media: no media – no moral panic." 

A classic example of this would be the blame appropriated to Marilyn Manson and heavy metal music for the Columbine High School shooting of the 1990s. 

What moral panics can you think of that have happened in your lifetime? 

How has the media reported them?