Moral Panics: A Social Problem

537 Words2 Pages

Any person over the age of 12 would have no problem recalling the panic of the H1N1 virus in the United States in 2009. An acute sniffle? The only possibly explanation is Swine Flu. When in reality, during the prime of this epidemic, only about 12,000 fatalities occurred. Now we look back and find these “panics” merely an overreaction. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a panic as “a situation that causes many people to become afraid and to rush to do something.” However in class, it was discussed that a moral panic is a social problem that is largely unsubstantiated. For decades, society has been quick to jump to conclusions about social problems, including the red scare, the grunge era, the “choking game,” and even poisoned Halloween candy.
It seems that every week in the news, they’re saying the same thing, “Coming up next, the new dangerous trend in today’s youth.” And then they carry on with a story about how a few teens make questionable choices. In the 1980’s and 90’s, the grunge era became more prevalent in the United States. Teens started to wear more leather and chains a...

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