An example of a social panic is the suicides that happened in Bridgend in early 2008. By early 2008, seven people aged between 15-29 had committed suicide (Gordon, 2008). Bridgend became the focus of the whole world. Suicide, which was believed to be a social issue, became openly discussed as the issue caught international media attention.

First, there was concern about the suicide of so many young people in one area. This issue was a social problem. These young people were members of social sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. The fact that they were friends with each other on these sites made the issue a concern to the society. The internet was perceived as the cause of these suicides.

People became hostile over the use of the internet. It was believed that there was an internet suicide cult and people developed the fear of the internet. These suicides were committed by people who knew each other on social media so people concluded that the internet was the cause of their committing of suicide.

The people of Bridgend came to a consensus that the death of so many young people was abnormal to a society. People began to openly discuss the issue of suicide, which was viewed as a social issue. However, it was difficult for the people to have a reasonable debate due to the complex nature of the issue. The believe that there was an internet suicide cult caused anguish for those who had lost their loved ones.

However, there was disproportionality in the perception and reaction to this issue.  The threat of suicide was real because people were killing themselves. However, the causes of the suicide as perceived by people were not real. The media reported that these deaths were linked just because these young people were friends on social media (Gordon, 2008). Therefore, it was concluded that an internet suicide cult existed and people developed fear of the internet. However, this was never proved to exist. With time, more deaths continued and it was discovered that there were other social issue that led to the deaths. The issue of the internet and internet suicide cults was forgotten.

The “folk devils” in the above example is the internet suicide cult. The cult was perceived to be the cause of the deaths. The instigators of the moral panic were the media. The media concluded that the suicides were linked because the victims were friends on social media.  Instead of focusing on other social issue such as depression to be a cause of the suicides, the media focused on the use of internet by the victims. People became afraid of using the internet for fear of the cult.

The social background that led to the moral panic was the sensitization around the suicide issue. Suicide, which was considered a social issue not to be openly discussed due to the stigma associated with it, became a discussion topic in the media as well as in Bridgend.  The ensuing coverage featured several facets such as the fear of the internet.

In my opinion, this moral panic did not leave any lasting consequences to the society.  Just like any fads, the issue eventually went away as people discovered the real causes of the suicides. However, the issue brought to light the life experiences of those involved and other societal issues like the lack of a suicide prevention strategy in Bridgend.

Reference

Gordon, B. (2008, January 24). Bridgend suicides: ‘It just seems normal, fashionable almost… ‘ Retrieved March 22, 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3635396/Bridgend-suicides-It-just-seems-normal-fashionable-almost…-.html

 
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