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One example of a moral panic in recent times is the concern that social media is causing young people to lose all of their social skills and become completely disconnected from reality. While social media can have negative effects, the issue is sometimes presented in a way that makes it seem like all young people are being harmed by it.

This is an example of a moral panic because media reports and public discussions can exaggerate the problem and create fear about an entire generation. Many people began to view social media as the main cause of issues such as anxiety, loneliness, and poor communication, even though these problems are often influenced by many different factors. This example shows how society can sometimes react strongly to a perceived threat and create widespread concern that may be greater than the actual risk.

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The worry that violent video games would lead to aggressive behavior in young individuals is one example of a moral panic. Video games are directly linked to crime and violence, according to several prominent personalities and media sources. The topic has frequently been portrayed in a way that creates anxiety and fear in the public, although research has produced conflicting results.

Teenagers' anxiety over social media and smartphone use is another example. Many people are concerned that social media is contributing to widespread mental health issues, social isolation, and cyberbullying. Sociologists contend that moral panics frequently involve unrealistic anxieties that might cause society to concentrate on a specific issue while ignoring larger societal factors, even when these worries may have some merit.

-Janvi Patel

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One example I can think of for Moral Panic surrounds teens and mental health. Currently in society there is a panic surrounding the downgrade in teens mental health in recent years. Lot of news outlets have been reporting on this issue and blaming things such as social media. People believe that due to social media use is why teens are experiencing more depression, anxiety, self harm and suicide. Many places in the world have or are trying to band social media for youth under 16. The usage of social media in teens is now seen as a threat to the younger population.

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A current moral panic I can think of is centred around the gaming platform Roblox. Lately there have been a lot of videos about horrible people being caught using the games on the site to talk to people much younger than them and making the platform not a safe place for kids like it claims to be. I used to play a lot of Roblox when I was younger, there has always been an issue like this, but since I was playing it, the issue has gotten so much worse and now there are sites linked to Roblox, like discord, that give these horrible people more of an opportunity to get into contact with people much younger than them. It hurts to know that Roblox seems to do nothing about this issue, a game that I used to play did not care about my safety at all.

- Olivia Dixon

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Some examples of moral panics that has occurred over the years are…

1.     Immigration: Throughout history, and even now various groups of individuals who are immigrants have been portrayed as a threat to jobs, public and personal safety, culture, religion, ect. This is more often then not coming from sources without evidence that supports these claims of perceived threats.

2.     AI: Recently there has been a lot of panic about AI, people stating that it’s a threat to humanity and employment. It is said that AI goes against societal values and public safety andf in which needs to be regulated and controlled.

3.     Video games: In the past there has been a lot of blame in which has been put onto certain video games such as GTA, COD, and Fortnite, for the rise in violence among youth. Individuals state that it influences the youths behavior and thoughts, normalizing this violence seen within these video games.

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An example of moral panic that comes to mind for me as a music lover is when Rock and Roll and Heavy Metal music became more popular in the 1950’s-1980’s. People believed that this music and sound would promote things like violence, delinquency, and corruption amongst those who listened to the genres. Obviously this was an extreme generalization that in my eyes relates back to ‘purity culture’ as well. Religious spaces and people banned this kind of music out of fear of its connection to ‘sinfulness.’ The outcome of this moral panic involved labels of warning on music and much higher amounts of censorship.

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A clear current example of a moral panic might be the concern about the use of social media by the youth. The most current iteration of the public's concern with social media has come with the rise of TikTok and Instagram, and the supposed impacts of these platforms on the youth's behaviour, mental health, and even the ability to pay attention. Often, the media's portrayal of and public discourse about the consequences of social media use approach an over-exaggeration, and ultimately, social media is scapegoated.

Another, more timeless, example is the hysteria about aggressive video games and the morality of the youth, and the more recent, aggressive video games. In this example of a panic, an unstable adolescent, at least in the opinion of most adults of the time, was responsible for their aggressive behaviour and a lack of impulse control. Despite the absence of evidence that video games precipitated a loss of the social contract, these panics go to show how the adults in society respond to the perceived threats of the time.

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An example of moral panic that came to my mind quickly is the stigma around certain medications such as antidepressants and anti anxiety medications such as lexapro. Many people tend to assume that these medications are an easy way out for people, in attempts to numb their pain instead of dealing with it head on. The stigma includes implications that these individuals who take these kinds of medications are weak, dependent or not able to function on their own. This can create a misunderstanding around mental health treatment which can seriously impact the way people decide to go about their struggles. This goes back to the conception of moral panic as society often exaggerates these concerns and tends to treat medication use as something that is dangerous and not necessary, even though it may very much be necessary for that individual. People may feel judged and be labeled for something that is medically supported and recommended, and as a result people may feel the pressure to hide their experiences and struggles, avoid asking for help.

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One example of moral panic which I would consider a concern is the direction in which Gen Alpha is currently going. Because this is a broad topic, I will only bring up 2 examples. My little brother is currently 7, and often he would use electronics and devices A LOT. Usually he would get to use the T.V anytime he wants even when he gets in trouble, but he also has a tablet and his own Nintendo switch. The games are fortunately appropriate for his age (excluding Roblox because of recent allegations), but he would often binge watch the same car ads, things on the news, and brain rot over and over again. This is causing a moral panic because it is not just my parents being concerned, I've seen people my age and older worried because it's harder for these kids to learn alongside the media practically being shoved in their faces. The second thing I'll briefly address are the "older" kids of this generation. I noticed ever since 2023, younger girls would be partaking in skincare and doing their makeup. Often they range from the ages of 7-13. Sometimes, I am aware that people are genuinely concerned but are just simply not mad enough.

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A moral panic I can think of is a popular video game widely played in 2017 in India was the Blue Whale Challenge. It basically involved a series of tasks to be done that were assigned to players over the course of several weeks through private messaging or through social media platforms such as online game chat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Gradually the challenges given to participants become increasingly dangerous to an extent that players are ready to engage themselves in harmful behaviour and commit suicide. I am not interested in video games, but the mishappenings associated with this game gained my attention, and out of curiosity, I also downloaded this game but hopefully never played it. This game resulted in many dangerous internet trends and deaths of young people. A close relative of mine from another village also took his life after jumping from the second floor of his own house, and police later found out that he was playing this game, and the task was to challenge the self and jump from the roof of the house. I remember this subject gained widespread media coverage at that time and challenged its influence on youth to such an extreme extent. It created social control and moral panic. Parents were so concerned that they started intervening in their children’s use of social platforms for their online safety and digital literacy.

More interestingly, the concepts of saints can also be seen in this scenario because, despite all the negative and dangerous environment that this game created, this was not fully banned, and research suggested that cases lacked clear evidence and it was just a rumour panic, which shows how the individuals who created this game remained anonymous and avoided punishment.

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One example of a moral panic that I have noticed is the concern surrounding children's safety on platforms such as Roblox. There have been reports of older individuals using online games and chat features to contact and manipulate young users, which has raised concerns among parents and the public. Cases of online grooming and sexual exploitation are serious issues that society should not ignore. However, the public reaction can sometimes go beyond the actual level of risk and create the impression that every child using Roblox is in danger. Media coverage often focuses on the most extreme cases, which can increase fear and lead people to view the platform as entirely unsafe. This is an example of a moral panic because a real social problem becomes amplified through public concern and media attention, creating widespread fear that does not always fully reflect the experiences of all users.

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One example of moral panic from the past is Satanic Panic, amplified by the popularized game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), and other media, such as books, that involved the mention of the devil, magic, and other fantastical/horror ideas. The fear of rising Satanism and these thoughts through the 1980’s-90’s, caused adults to believe that there was a presence of Satanic cults who were trying to cause harm through actions such as kidnapping, physical harm, and ritual sacrifices. These conspiracy theories were fueled by media and other outlets who published stories feeding into the ideas many adults had. An example is the book Michelle Remembers by Lawrence Pazder, documenting now discredited accounts of satanic abuse performed on Michelle. The Satanic Panic is a good example of moral panic in which society collectively becomes disproportionately fearful of a topic/situation, in this case creating false “evidence” to back up their thoughts.

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Week 10 Backpack Activity- Visshnee Thirikaran 

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Week 10 Backpack Activity- Visshnee Thirikaran 

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One example of a moral panic is the fear surrounding “stranger danger” in the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, media reports and public campaigns heavily emphasized the idea that children were constantly at risk of being abducted by strangers. Parents became much more protective, often limiting children’s independence and outdoor play. While child safety is important, statistics showed that abductions by strangers were extremely rare compared to risks from people known to the child, such as family members or acquaintances. This gap between perception and reality is what makes it a moral panic. The intense media coverage and public fear created an exaggerated sense of danger, shaping parenting practices and public policy even though the actual likelihood of the threat was relatively low.

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One example of a moral panic is the HIV and AIDs panic from the 1980’s to the 1990’s. Through the use of media and its ability to spread information quickly, HIV/AIDS was believed by society to be an issue with the individual rather than a medical issue. Although homosexuality was decriminalized in the 1960’s, many people still view it as immoral and wrong, especially those who follow a religion like Christianity for example. This panic was treated as a heavy threat to society because religion, homophobia, and improper medical knowledge all played a role in how this panic developed. Due to the public framing of this disease, the attention of it shifted from finding a suitable way to manage the disease to punishing those who contracted this disease and preventing further spread of this disease by sending homosexual individuals to conversion camps. Throughout the years, more medical research was done into HIV and AIDS and it revealed that it can be contracted through various methods and is not specific to homosexuality. Treatment to manage the disease has also developed with more advanced research methods since the 1980’s. Although it is still an issue because it is an incurable disease, there is not much moral panic surrounding it compared to the past.

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One recent example of a moral panic is the concern around artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and deepfake technology. In the past couple of years, there has been a lot of public fear that AI will replace jobs, increase cheating in schools, and even spread misinformation that people cannot detect.

Some schools and educators initially reacted strongly by banning AI tools or assuming that any use of them was dishonest. There were also media stories suggesting that AI could “take over” many careers or make it harder to trust what we see online because deepfakes can realistically imitate real people’s voices and images.

This can be seen as a moral panic because the reactions are often very intense and sometimes based on fear of new technology rather than fully balanced evidence. While AI does raise real ethical and academic concerns, not all uses are harmful, and many people also use it as a learning or productivity tool. Over time, society is still figuring out how to regulate and understand it properly. -phanny iragena

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An example of moral panic was fear of violent video games which arose especially in the early 2000s, and it’s still discussed at times. In those days, the prevailing idea was that young people who played violent video games, especially shooters or fighters, would become more violent or even commit real-world violence.It was a moral panic since concern spread throughout the media and popular discourse despite lack of convincing and consistent evidence that videogames were linked to real violence. Politicians, parents and news organizations would often refer to isolated incidents and single out videogames as a significant factor without considering the broader range of factors such as mental well-being, domestic situations or social problems. Over time, research has revealed that the link between videogames and real-world violence is unclear and complex, yet the panic has led to alterations of consumer ratings and parenting guidelines, as well as public discourse. It illustrates the process by which moral panics erupt and are maintained.

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The example of a moral panic in recent times is the fear around teenage vaping. I have seen this firsthand and it made me question a lot of things.I have watched people reach for their vape first thing in the morning before even brushing their teeth. The first time I saw that it was shocking to me because I had never seen anything like it before. The addiction is very real and I do not want to dismiss that at all.
However, the media took this real issue and blew it way out of proportion. Every young person who vapes has been labelled as reckless and irresponsible. The focus was always on blaming teenagers instead of asking why companies like Juul were making flavoured vapes that were clearly designed to appeal to young people in the first place.
The panic was real but it was pointed in the wrong direction. The society chose to target individuals instead of looking at the bigger picture which is what makes this a moral panic. I think in the situation, the real issue gets lost because everyone is focused on blaming young people instead of understanding what is actually going on around them.

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One example of a moral panic in recent times is anxiety over TikTok and its impact on young people, notably the notion that it is "damaging youth attention spans," "encouraging dangerous trends," or "exposing kids to inappropriate content." Although there are valid conversations regarding social media use, this scenario has frequently taken on the traits of a moral panic.

In this instance, TikTok is commonly depicted in public discourse and media reports as a serious threat to children and teens, with allegations that it is specifically to blame for deteriorating mental health, subpar academic achievement, or dangerous behavior. News reports, parent organizations, and political discussions frequently magnify these worries, sometimes without providing compelling proof that TikTok is noticeably more detrimental than other social media sites.

Sociologically speaking, this meets the definition of a moral panic as a particular group or technology—in this example, a social media platform and its users—is portrayed as a danger to society values, especially the welfare of young people. Calls for more stringent laws, school bans, or even government action result from this. Although there are legitimate concerns about screen time and internet safety, the intensity of the response sometimes surpasses the facts, resulting in a generalized sense of urgency and panic.

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One example of a moral panic is the theory about teen social media and smartphones. This panic claimed that there was a rise in mental health crisis among teenagers, especially teenage girls, with high rates of depression, anxiety, body-image problems, and even suicide, which could be linked to some social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok.

This narrative fits the moral panic theory because it caused fear through the media and political speeches, framing those platforms as a societal danger. And this, of course, made most parents worried about their kids. This panic led to policy decisions in some countries, like Australia's proposed under-16 social media ban and US state-level restrictions.

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An example of moral panic from the past forty or fifty years (and still very much relevant now) is climate change. Even if you accept that humans have a negative effect on the environment and are causing the climate to change, it still doesn’t explain the popularity of ideas like net zero—especially in Canada, which contributes to about 1.5% of global emissions. The moral panic here is about the “deviance” of burning fossil fuels; the proposed solution is to stop, and to use other energy sources. I classify this as a moral panic because it doesn’t make sense, economically, to stop using fossil fuels. Our country completely relies on it—especially in the winter, for heat—and there is currently no alternative that can sustain our standard of living. Coupled with the fact that China makes up about 1/3 of global emissions and shows no sign of slowing down, it just doesn’t make sense to sacrifice Canada’s economy for a potential 1.5% decrease in global emissions. The moral panic is about the extreme nature of the response compared to the reality of what that response would actually result in globally, and, for Canada, economically. For this to stop being a moral panic, it would require the whole industrial world to get on the same page, or for cleaner energy to become affordable and more efficient; until then, I am highly suspicious of any claims that we should divest in fossil fuels, even though I agree that they are environmentally problematic.

--Graham

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One instance of a moral panic that I have witnessed is the anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence. As a student, I have observed that many individuals are concerned that AI will entirely replace educators, eradicate jobs, or enforce students to cease independent thinking. Although there are valid worries regarding the potential misuse of AI, some public responses appear to be overstated. Media reports and discussions on social platforms occasionally emphasize worst-case scenarios, instilling fear that AI will inflict extensive damage in a very brief period. In truth, AI is a tool that can be utilized in both beneficial and detrimental ways, contingent upon human application. I believe this exemplifies a moral panic, as society frequently reacts intensely to emerging technologies before fully comprehending them. Instead of perceiving AI solely as a menace, it is crucial to acknowledge both its advantages and its dangers, and to establish suitable regulations for its implementation.

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An example of a moral panic is the issue surrounding social media and the use of smartphones by adolescents. Over the past few years, it has been noted that news articles, parents, and community organizations have voiced concerns over the damaging effects of social media on the mental health of teens, as well as their being victims of cyberbullying and loneliness.

Overexposure to social media can result in various dangers; however, this has been taken to extreme levels, resulting in moral panicking over the activity itself, despite the fact that not all of it may be bad. The reason why this can be viewed as a moral panic is that the society feels that the group is posing a danger to social wellbeing.

This is one of the examples showing how moral panics emerge around emerging technologies.

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One example of a moral panic that I can think of and remember is the killer clown sightings that occured in North America back in 2016. During this time, there were reports and viral media posts about people dressed as clowns acting suspicious, chasing people, holding weapons, and so on. Even though many of these incidents were unverified, exaggerated, made for shock value, etc… the stories spread quickly through news outlets and social media (especially on YouTube at the time), creating widespread fear.

This can be considered a moral panic because the public reaction was much larger than the actual level of threat. Clowns became associated with danger and violence, even though there was no coordinated or widespread criminal activity behind most of the sightings. In some cases, people were simply participating in pranks or copying viral trends, but media coverage increased that fear.

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An example of moral panic that I can think of is introducing LGTBQ+ people and opinions around children. Some recent political debates have painted LGBTQ+ as a threat to children claiming that individuals labeling themselves as transgender people or drag people are posing a threat to children and traditional family values. Resulting in protests for book bans, restrictions on school curricula and limits on public events. In my last year of high school many adults gathered outside my school to protest on this topic claiming that it was poisoning their kids and how schools were forcing LGBTQ+ knowledge down student’s throats. While in my public school, we didn’t even have a topic about LGBTQ+ history in our history class. Sometimes the opinion was debated in English, but still very little school curriculum was talking about anything related to LGBTQ+. Yet in my opinion, children and teens should be introduced into these types of topics-not just being dump on students-but slowly integrated into our learning so that kids are aware that there are people out there that have a current preference in partners or even coming to understand that they better see themselves enjoying life as a girl while they biologically are a boy. Parents who are concerned about these things most likely get their information from media outlets and people who are extremely biased with their opinions. So if we were educating people about LGBTQ+ information earlier in life, it might’ve be helpful to hopefully allow individuals to freely express themselves but also them to not be discriminated by hate.

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An example of a moral panic is the early reaction to COVID 19 in 2020. When the virus first spread, there was a lot of fear and uncertainty. Some people started panic-buying items like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and food, which led to empty shelves in stores. There was also a lot of blame and fear directed toward certain groups of people, and misinformation spread quickly online about how the virus worked and how dangerous it was. While COVID-19 was a real and serious health issue, the panic behaviour (like hoarding supplies and believing false information) shows a moral panic because people reacted in extreme ways based on fear and confusion rather than clear facts.

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A moral panic that I can think of is when it comes to video games and social media. With the rapid growth of video games amongst kids and it being something that almost every kid has or does play, parents are growing concerned over the addictiveness of video games as well the ability they have to communicate with random strangers online. The level of accessibility kids have to these gaming platforms and how easy it is for them to interact with strangers without any form of verification has proven to be a challenge and concern for parents over the years with many cases of predators using these platforms to interact with kids in inappropriate ways. That combined with the potential violence video games present has parents concerned about the influence these games have over their kids with the potential to instill violent tendencies has created a moral panic amongst adults over kids screen time and the games they play.

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One example of moral panic is the popularity of Ai. When Ai first came out it was portrayed as a helpful tool for people to use for education, work and everyday tasks.  The problem is people has concerns about the affects it has on children and young people’s mental health. They have been high profile cases about Ai not reporting suspicious activities about suicidal behaviour or violent questioning. After the Tumber ridge mass shooting in BC, that cause a moral panic about safeguards around the use of Ai. The public reaction was more concerned when they found out that the Ai company know about the mass shooter violent questioning to the Ai chat.  As a result of this terrible incident,  the Ai company promised to put more safe guards and reporting when it comes to suspicious activities. The moral panic of this incident made the important changes to safety of Ai use.

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One example of a moral panic that I can think about is the concern surrounding the Snapchat app. When Snapchat became popular, many parents, schools, and media outlets expressed concern that the app encouraged risky behaviour because messages and photos could disappear after being viewed. There were fears that young people would use the app for cyberbullying, sharing inappropriate content, or engaging in unsafe online interactions.

This can be seen as a moral panic because Snapchat was often portrayed as a major threat to teenagers and society, even though any users simply used it to communicate with friends. While there are legitimate concerns about online safety and privacy, some of the public reactions exaggerated the dangers and focused heavily on worst-case scenarios. This example shows how new technologies can sometimes become the focus of widespread fear and concern, leading people to view them as more harmful than they may be.

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One example of a moral panic would be how recently over social media challenges on platforms like Tiktok. Some viral challenges have been portrayed by the media as evidence that large numbers of young people are engaging in dangerous behaviour. While certain challenges have posed real risks, media coverage has sometimes exaggerated how widespread these trends actually are. This example reflects a moral panic because society has become highly concerned about the potential threat to youth and leading to a fear among parents and even schools. In many cases, the public reaction was greater than the actual number of people participating in the challenges. As a result social media platforms,schools and governments have introduced new rules and awareness campaigns to address the perceived problem. This demonstrates how moral panics can develop when a social issue is seen as a major threat to societal values and safety of others.

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One Example of a moral panic that I can think of in recent years is the concern about the impact of social media on young people. Some viral trends that youth are participating in are dangerous and the social media platforms are not banning these trends from their platforms. This became moral panic because the issue was portrayed as a threat to youth.

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One example of a moral panic is the concern over the "Momo Challenge" that spread on social media a few years ago. Many people believed that a frightening character called Momo was encouraging children to harm themselves through online videos and messaging apps. News reports and social media posts caused widespread fear among parents, schools, and communities.

Although the challenge received a lot of attention, investigations found little evidence that it was actually widespread or causing the harms that were claimed. The fear surrounding the Momo Challenge is considered a moral panic because public concern grew much larger than the actual threat. It demonstrates how media coverage and social media can amplify fears about risks to children.

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One moral panic that is relatable for my generation is the public reaction to the availability of cannabis gummies.  I was 12 years old when cannabis became legal in Canada and I have clear memories of the chaos that was stirred up as parents and schools reacted with intense fear about the availability of cannabis gummies.  The media reported stories where children would find gummies in their home, think they were candy and take them resulting in immediate and long-term health issues.  My middle school had a ban on bringing anything that looked like a gummy to school.  I admit that I had a fear of eating anything that looked like a gummy and worrying about the gummy bears at the frozen yogurt place that my friends and I would go to every chance we got in grade seven.  I have since found out that all cannabis gummies sold here in Canada must use highly regulated child proof packaging and there are strict limits on TCH which is the ‘active’ or potentially most dangerous ingredient.  The idea that gummies looked appealing to kids and that they were at high risk of taking them and overdosing created a moral panic.  The fear of gummies persisted throughout my teen years and looking back, I think it was a massive over reaction with very little evidence to back it up.

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A moral panic is when people start to become overly scared about something in society and think it is a big danger, even when the end is not very strong. For example, in the 1950s, the comic books were blamed for making young people violent, and some were even banned. In the 1980s-1990s, there was the "Satanic Panic," where people wrongly believed that secret cults were harming children. More recently, video games have been blamed for violent behavior in teens, and social media is often criticized for causing mental health problems in young people. These examples show how society can sometimes overreact to new trends or even just to the media.

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A recent example of a moral panic is the concern around “TikTok challenges” and youth behaviour, especially when certain viral trends are portrayed as dangerous or harmful. At times, media reports and social media posts have claimed that TikTok is promoting risky activity among teens, such as dangerous pranks or dangerous stunts. Other times, isolated incidents were widely circulated and packaged as part of a broader trend, even when there was little evidence that these challenges were widespread. This is a moral panic, a term for when there is increased public fear, often fueled by media coverage, that a group (teenagers and social media users in this case) is turning into a threat to social order or safety. The reaction may be disproportionate to the actual risk. There are calls for stricter regulation of social media or blame for youth culture in general.

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The first moral panic that comes to mind is one I believe is still in action, and that is the use of AI in academics. Since the emergence of AI, I have yet to have a teacher or professor who has not taken the time to discuss the harmful impacts of AI and how it is absolutely prohibited within schools, universities, and other academic institutions. However, due to AI’s relatively short existence within the world of academics, its impact on student engagement and learning is still not fully understood. To me, this signals a disproportionate panic over a possible new educational tool, which, if integrated into teaching rather than fully prohibited, could prove efficient. As such, the communal fear surrounding AI appears to reflect fear rather than intervention based on extensive empirical evidence of negative impacts.

Additionally, when thinking of moral panics in recent years, there are many examples, such as vaping in schools and other establishments, the impacts of drag and/or 2SLGBTQIA+ education on youth, and the increase in violence attributed to video games. All of these involve levels of fear and intervention that exceed the empirical basis currently available, yet their negative impacts have already been decided by the court of public opinion.

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One example of a moral panic in recent years was the widespread fear surrounding the “Tide Pod Challenge” on social media. News outlets and online discussions created concern that large numbers of teenagers were intentionally eating laundry detergent pods as part of an internet trend. While there were a few real incidents, the media coverage often exaggerated how common the behavior actually was.

This became a moral panic because society reacted with intense fear and concern about young people, social media, and internet culture. Adults, schools, and media organizations warned that teenagers were becoming reckless and influenced by dangerous online trends. The situation reflected how moral panics often involve fears that a certain group—in this case teenagers and social media users—is threatening social values or public safety. Although the challenge was harmful, many people argued that the media attention amplified the issue and made it appear much more widespread than it really was.

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One moral panic that is relatable for my generation is the public reaction to the availability of cannabis gummies.  I was 12 years old when cannabis became legal in Canada and I have clear memories of the chaos that was stirred up as parents and schools reacted with intense fear about the availability of cannabis gummies.  The media reported stories where children would find gummies in their home, think they were candy and take them resulting in immediate and long-term health issues.  My middle school had a ban on bringing anything that looked like a gummy to school.  I admit that I had a fear of eating anything that looked like a gummy and worrying about the gummy bears at the frozen yogurt place that my friends and I would go to every chance we got in grade seven.  I have since found out that all cannabis gummies sold here in Canada must use highly regulated child proof packaging and there are strict limits on TCH which is the ‘active’ or potentially most dangerous ingredient.  The idea that gummies looked appealing to kids and that they were at high risk of taking them and overdosing created a moral panic.  The fear of gummies persisted throughout my teen years and looking back, I think it was a massive over reaction with very little evidence to back it up.

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One of the most prominent moral panics that I have witnessed, especially growing up, was the moral panic surrounding video games. It became an accepted wisdom amongst older generations that video games would, undeniably, lead to violent, dangerous behaviour. I definitely agree that there are some video games that children probably should not be playing, voice-chatting games, for example. No matter how many games I played that one may consider “violent”, such as Grand Theft Auto or the Walking Dead Games, it never manifested into actual feelings of aggression and violence. I feel that video games have very much been used as a scapegoat to explain away violent behaviour, so that parents do not have to fully take responsibility for how they may have failed their children or ignored their problematic behaviour.  - Madeleine Fargo

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An example of a moral panic is the possibility that Epstein Island may be systematic and institutional. What I mean by this is that the island was a normal part of elite wealthy individuals and it was something you didn’t talk about just like Stanley’s Kubrick’s film, “Eyes Wide Shut”. I still believe that there are other islands out there and for the powerful and the elites, this is not a social deviance.

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Moral Panic: Tiktok is not a new app, but the app has been used for different purposes. The app used to be used for dancing, and lip syncing, but is now used as an influential platform. There have been many trends over the last couple of years that sparked concern for the wellbeing of Tiktok users. One of the trends was the ‘devious lick’ challenges. This was a trend where students posted videos of stealing and damaging school property. This led to a rise of concern on the news about schools increasing security and monitoring students more closely. This happened at my local high school, and led to ‘hallway security’ and signing in and out when leaving the classroom to easily be able to determine who was outside of the class when these ‘devious licks’ were happening. While these incidents kept occurring, the trend received global attention and was thought to be a major threat affecting many schools, including my own. Another trend was the Tide Pod challenge. The tidepod challenge was simply people biting into tidepods. The reason was that the pods were bright in colour and looked similar to the fruit jellies that you bit into the plastic outside and the juice squirted into your mouth. As this trend became popular, schools, parents and health organizations warned young generations about the risks. This reflects a moral panic because public reactions and media coverage amplified the issue and portrayed it as a major social threat. The last example I have from Tiktok was the Kiki Challrngr, which was inspired by one of Drake's popular songs at the time. People filmed themselves getting out of moving vehicles and dancing beside them while the specific song played. Videos of accidents and injuries quickly spread on Tiktok, and news was covering this trend and was showing concern, involving police departments to send the message of the danger this is causing. This reflects a moral panic because a social trend was presented as a major threat to public safety.

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Being on my phone makes my parents think I'm obsessed with it, or always being on some sort of technology might give a moral panic because I don't want to be seen as obsessed with technology or like I'm disconnected, but it is needed for me to do school work, and the modern social world is mostly online and through technology. This might give older generations a panic that the world might not be “good” anymore, but they need to understand that it's just a different way of socializing in today's modern society.