Unnecessary Moral Panic

Moral panic is the frenzy and terror that arises after an issue is stirred up by whistleblowers with little else to do than wreck havoc on a perfectly content group of people. These whistleblowers feel it is their obligation to create pandemonium over a usually minimally threatening terror. Case in point: the H1N1 Flu. Although there are many theories about who blew the H1N1 Flu threat out of proportion, some group with a hidden agenda decided to not only attach a horrible stigma to swine- pigs have never gotten a worse rap than the first weeks of the "Swine Flu" outbreak- but to also create an imminent threat of unknown consequences of catching the Flu. Moral panic ensued, and schools, businesses, and almost every organization in the United States panicked and scrambled to try and prevent an outbreak by providing Purrell dispensers at every opportunity they could.

Moral panic extends beyond disease and famine, it can also affect Social Networking Sites (SNS) and lately Facebook has been struck with it regularly. Moral panic first struck social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace with the scare over sexual predators and underage SNS users. New media helped spread the furry associated with the threat of sexual predators luring your adolescents into meeting up with them and before you knew it, parents and children's advocacy groups were up in arms with the situation.

Television programs like NBC'S To Catch a Predator did not help the panic by showcasing sexual predators in the act of engaging in explicit conversations with volunteers posing as teens from the group Perverted Justice. The show helped local authorities put hundreds of criminals behind bars but at what cost to the public's sanity? Are the concerns and scenarios raised so outlandish that the chance of them actually affecting your children is slim to none? Are children really looking to chat and meet up with 40-year-old men? The question is, when do whistleblowers and advocacy groups cross the line from being informative and productive groups who spread the word of possible dangers to being nuisances and initiators of unnecessary and excessive moral panic?