How does the Media cause Crime?

What are the 5 explanations for how the media causes crime?

• Copy-Cat Violence

• Relative Deprivation

• Moral Panics and Deviance Amplification

• The Media Commodifies Crime

• Cyber-Crime

What does the Copy-Cat Crime explanation for crime argue?

some argue people copy what they see in the media including criminal behaviour

Whose death was an example of Copy-Cat Violence?

Jamie Bulger

• two ten year old children killed Jamie - displayed behaviour similar to scenes from the film “Child’s Play 3” which they recently had watched

What is a sociological explanation which would support Copy-Cat Violence as an explanation for how the media causes crime?

Bandura - children who watched adults violently beat up a bobo doll were also violent to the doll when left in a room with it

• children imitate what they see

According to the concept of Copy-Cat Violence, what are the 3 ways in which the media might cause crime and deviance?

• Imitation (deviant role models spark copycat behaviour)

• Arousal (deviance/violence is seen as exciting)

• Desensitisation (repeated viewing of violence makes it seem less extraordinary)

How can the Copy-Cat Violence explanation for why media causes crime be criticised?

some argue that the media actually sensitises people to crime and violence

• people are more aware of the suffering that criminality causes - reduces the changes of people committing violent crimes

What is the Relative Deprivation explanation for the media causing crime argue?

left realists blame mass media for increasing individual’s sense of deprivation

• everyone has access to media - images of materialistic “good life” portrayed

• people do not have the means to achieve these things - crime as the only mean available to them to achieve these goals

How does Jack Young support the Relative Deprivation explanation that the media a is cause for crime?

“The mass media have disseminated a standardised image of lifestyle, particularly in areas of popular culture”

How is Relative Deprivation as an explanation as a cause for why the media causes crime successful?

explains why despite living standards rising in many countries crime rates have risen

How is Relative Deprivation as an explanation as a cause for why the media causes crime unsuccessful?

very simple and deterministic view

What is a Moral Panic?

exaggerated over-reaction by society to a perceived problem usually driven or inspired by the media

• identifies a folk devil

• media presents the group in a negative, stereotypical way

• moral entrepreneurs condemn the group and its behaviour

• calls for a “crackdown” on the group

How do Moral Panics created by the media cause crime?

process of moral panics may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy that amplifies the problem that caused the panic in the first place

• causes a deviance amplification spiral

What is a sociologists example of a Moral Panic?

Cohen - Mods and Rockers

• media exaggerated the numbers involved in the skirmishes

• assumes and predicted further conflict

• symbols of the mods and rockers were negatively labelled and associated with deviance

What was the result of the Mods and Rockers that Cohen studied as a Moral Panic?

deviance amplification spiral

• increased control from the police

• further marginalisation and less tolerance

• further amplified the deviance by defining the two groups and their styles

• more young people adopting these styles creating more participants for future clashes

How is the media responsible for the results of the deviance amplification spiral that Cohen’s Mods and Rockers experienced?

media helped to create a self-fulfilling prophecy of escalating conflict as youths acted out the roles the media has assigned to them

How are Moral Panics (Mods and Rockers) successful in explaining how the media causes crime?

people relied on the media for their information about the mods and rockers - allowing the media to portray them as the folk devils of society

According to McRobbie and Thornton, why are Moral Panics an unsuccessful explanation for how the media causes crime?

McRobbie and Thornton - moral panics have lost their power to ‘shock’ people; little consensus to what is deviant/no longer regarded as deviant

• harder for the media to create panics about them

What is the Media Commodifying Crime explanation for the media causing crime suggest?

crime and its thrills have become commodified - means of selling products and goods

• cooperation and advertisers use media images of crime to sell products (typically to the youth)

What is an example of how the Media Commodifies Crime?

e.g. “gangster” rap and hip hop combine images of street hustler criminality (illegal selling of goods) with images of consumerist success

• similarly hip hop stars parade designer chic clothing, jewellery, champagne, luxury cars, etc

How does Fenwick and Hayward support the idea that the Media Commodifies Crime?

Fenwick and Hayward - “Crime is packaged and marketed to young people as a romantic, exciting, cool and fashionable symbol”

How does Hayward and Young support the idea that the Media Commodifies Crime?

Hayward and Young - points to car ads featuring street riots, joyriding, suicide bombing and graffiti

• graffiti - marker of “urban cool” but corporations use it in a “guerrilla marketing” technique called “brandalism”; selling everything from theme parks to video games

How is the idea of the Media Commodifying Crime as an explanation for crime criticised?

irony - some designer labels valued by young people as symbols of identify now function as markers of deviance

• e.g. some shopping centres have banned hoodies (e.g. Bluewater shopping centre in Kent)

How does Thomas and Loader define Cyber-Crime?

Thomas and Loader - Cyber-Crime as a computer-meditated activities that are neither illegal nor considered illicit by some, and that are conducted through global electronic networks

What are the 5 categories of Cyber-Crime that sociologist Wall identifies?

• Cyber-trespass

• Cyber-deception and theft

• Cyber-pornography

• Cyber-violence

• Global cyber-crime

According to the sociologist Wall, what is Cyber-Trespass?

hacking and sabotaging through spreading of viruses

According to the sociologist Wall, what is Cyber-Deception and Theft?

obtaining identity or bank account details by deception

According to the sociologist Wall, what is Cyber-Pornography?

including porn involving children and opportunities for children to access porn

According to the sociologist Wall, what is Cyber-Violence?

doing psychological harm or inciting physical harm

• e.g. cyber-stalking, hate crimes, bullying by text

According to the sociologist Wall, what is Global Cyber-Crime?

problems of jurisdiction make it difficult for the police to prosecute people

How is Cyber-Crime criticised as being a cause of crime?

new information and communication technology allows the police and state greater opportunities to control the population through the use of surveillance