Friday, 20 October 2017

LO2: Social Media, Globalisation & Moral Panic

Moral panic is when the media report on a story that could cause people to become concerned. Panic in the press about something that may have a negative impact on a section of society. The term for the subject that is demonised is "folk devil".

There is currently a moral panic about children's access to technology. This is due to the prevalence of bullying, "revenge porn" and the sending of inappropriate pictures. This moral panic is down to websites such as "pro-ana" that glamourise anorexia and self-harm.

What media texts and technologies have caused a moral panic?
  • Snapchat
  • Grand Theft Auto
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/the_hysteria_over_trolls_is_a_classic_moral_panic/13890

  • The article suggests that trolling on social media is not a real issue, it is just a moral panic. 
  • The political class have become obsessed with a small number of trolls who insult women, they are making a big deal out of it.
I am on the fence about whether or not the moral panic over social media is a real issue as bullying among young teens has become more prominent because of the use of social media (e.g. Facebook, Snapchat). However, I feel that the moral panic over online trolling, in particular, has been extremely exaggerated. From my personal experience,  the majority of hurtful comments I have read online have been part of a two-way argument.





  • 97.5% of teens with social media accounts use Facebook, 1/4 of those have received unwanted comments on more than one occasion.
  • Half of UK girls are bullied on social media
  • It only takes 18 minutes for a predator to arrange to meet a victim
  • Snapchat bullying game that gets a number of school children to "target" a particular student to see who can come up with the best insult when bullying them.

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