Section A Exam Questions

2. Consider the view that the current press treatment of teenagers is simply another 'moral panic' (12 marks)

In both of the texts, the press often treat teenagers in a negative way, as The Metro front page features a moral panic, as teenagers have access to social networking sites such as Myspace and UGC sites such as Youtube, whereby they can reach to a wider teenage audience. However, the Daily Mail article treats teenagers in a less threatening way, as it explores how teenagers who join gangs are often neglected by their families and therefore resort to joining gangs in order to 'fit into the crowd' and be associated with people who understand them.

The front page of the Metro which was published on 21 February 2007 signifies the treatment of teenagers as a moral panic, as they use the Internet to advertise and recruit members into their gang. By posting videos of teenagers with firearms, drugs and fast cars, other audiences may be injected with ideologies that teenagers are a 'threat' and a 'menace' to society , as they are embedded with pluralistic and liberal values and are part of a moral panic, as they have the resource of the Internet to recruit new members, which may lead to a long term concern. Whats more, the teenagers are also more unethical, as they use violence to intimidate rivals and other teenagers and actively endorse violence. In relation to when the article was published , the media was rife with news related to gun and knife crime. In effect, a moral panic was created which advocated the ban of such guns and dangerous weapons and teenagers in particular were victims of knife and gun related attacks. In conjunction to this, the article stigmatizes teenagers for condoning violence and signifies how teenagers in gangs are threatening to the social order, as 'innocent' and 'naive' children can be involved in gangs and be trapped in gang warfare and live a life of violence.

In contrast, the Daily Mail article states that the treatment of teenagers is not a moral panic, as they themselves are a victim to a society which injects ideologies into them. By being influenced by crime films, TV programmes and black gangsta music, teenagers are influenced by what they see in music videos , as they get the impression that being a gangster is fashionable, therefore copy the style of a gangster as well as using slang. The fact that teenagers are in a group may make audiences deem them to be in a gang whereby they are violent. Moreover, it can be argued that the press treatment of teenagers is more than a moral panic, as the media is mainly to blame alongside family life and non existent role models which cause teenagers to end up joining gangs . The influx of ideologies enforced onto teenagers may result in them being desensitised and being unable to challenge the ideologies which are put onto them by the media. The lack of role models results in teenagers being susceptible to crime, as they may emulate relatives and be corrupted or dumbed down by what they see on television.