A Brief History of Moral Panics About Kids and Media
Gray, Peter. 2025-01-20.
Vinklinger
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Moralpanikk: Frykten for smarttelefoner hører hjemme i en lang rekke moralpanikker rettet mot barn og ungdoms mediebruk
Whenever a new technology comes along that creates a revolutionarily new means of communication, the young glom onto it and their elders, or a highly vocal group of them, believe it is leading to the wreck and ruin of the young. A term commonly applied to such reactions is moral panic.
It arises out of a natural, one might even say healthy, neophobia on the part of those who have lived well into adulthood without the new media, combined with an equally natural and benevolent desire to protect the young. Something new that has never been experienced before in the history of humanity might be dangerous; and it might be especially dangerous for kids because we view kids (rightly or wrongly) as more fragile and vulnerable than adults.
A common assumption underlying such panics is that children are innocent, vulnerable, and lacking in self-control.
Moral panics often arise from concerns that are initially moderate and reasonable. But intense focus on the concerns turns them into fears, which are augmented and spread because fear creates selective perception and attention. What seems to confirm the fear is noted, discussed, and blown up in the observers’ minds and in the media. Evidence tending to disconfirm the fear is overlooked or dismissed.
Plausible stories are created to explain a hypothesized causal link between the media in question and its putative harm to kids, and then the stories are presented as proofs. The stories come to be understood as laws of nature, so if empirical data don’t provide much evidence for a link, the stories do, in the minds of the morally panicked.
In most moral panics, some person arises as a primary crusader. Often the crusader is someone already known to and well-respected by a large portion of the public. It might be a prominent minister, journalist, medical doctor, psychiatrist, or professor. When that person comes out in support of the fear, the fear gains greater legitimacy. The crusader articulates the stories better than most others could, with a voice of certainty and authority that turns hypotheses into apparent facts. The crusaders are usually not charlatans. most are people of integrity who sincerely believe in the cause.
The crusaders’ claims are seductive, to the adult mind, not just because the crusaders are respected and believed to have the facts in hand but also because the solutions they offer seem simple and doable.
Examples of Past Moral Panics about Kids and Media Penny Dreadfuls and Dime Novels in the Victorian Era The Motion Picture Panic of the 1930s The Post-WWII Comic Book Panic The Video Game Panic of the 1990s and Early 21st Century