Youth moral panics in Malta : an exploration

Abstract

Through secondary data research, this dissertation attempts to explore the local media's representation and portrayal of young people during the organisation of SIN Parties (early 90s dance music parties held in Malta), in an effort to test the applicability of the moral panic theory, as developed by Stanley Cohen, to understand society's reaction to youth culture in Malta. Moral panic is the intensity of feeling, expressed in a population, about an issue that appears to threaten social order (Cohen 2002). It occurs when a condition, episode, person, or group of persons are defined as a threat to societal values and interests. In today's world, the media has the fundamental role of conveying everyone's voice and reality to the rest of the world. Although very often mass media is responsible for generating panic through the way it amplifies and distorts certain issues, it also actively influences social concerns by declaring that something should be done to change society. During the 1990s, the local media depicted SIN Parties as a strong concern for society, where young people were said to be indecent and accused of illicit drug abuse. This depiction was confirmed throughout the articles that were investigated. These clearly showed that substantial and amplified media coverage was the result of pressure from the Church and Government authorities and other pressure groups. The media's exaggerated reporting on the organisation of SIN Parties did elicit moral panic in Maltese society. Moral panic, which was elicited by the media's amplification of SIN Parties in Malta, occurred exactly according to Cohen's theory.