Identify a contemporary issue that might be defined as a “bad habit” and that may have produced a moral panic. By “contemporary” I mean something in the last twenty years or so. In 250 to 500 words, describe the concern, assess the “fit” of Good and Ben-Yehuda’s model for moral panic. In preparation, attempt to complete these research tasks:Find popular magazine or news coverage on the topic—try to find “raised voices”—i.e. evidence for legitimate concern.Find professional literature on the subject.Find blogs or websites attacking the behavior.Find blogs or websites defending the behavior. Complete your assignment in your word processor, then cut and paste the text into the Assignment window on Blackboard; or you may upload your document.Resources:For popular magazine and newspaper coverage:“Readers’ Guide Full Text Mega Edition” (by way of BC WebCentral’s library portal)Google News—set date parametersFor professional literature:“Academic OneFile” (by way of BC WebCentral’s library portal)“Google Scholar” (best if you navigate to Google Scholar via the library portal) Moral Panic characteristics:According to Goode and Ben-Yehuda, a moral panic demonstrates the following characteristics:Concern – There must be awareness that the behaviour of the group or category in question is likely to have a negative impact on society.Hostility – Hostility towards the group in question increases, and they become “folk devils”. A clear division forms between “them” and “us”.Consensus – Though concern does not have to be nationwide, there must be widespread acceptance that the group in question poses a very real threat to society. It is important at this stage that the “moral entrepreneurs” are vocal and the “folk devils” appear weak and disorganised.Disproportionality – The action taken is disproportionate to the actual threat posed by the accused group.Volatility – Moral panics are highly volatile and tend to disappear as quickly as they appeared due to a wane in public interest or news reports changing to another topic.[1]
