what role does the media play in the social construction of difference (deviance)?

Role of Media in Social Construction of Difference

Introduction

Literature , by far , has provided many different theories on the influence of media on people 's attitudes , worldview , and as well as behaviour . This article specifically deals with the role of media on the social construction of difference or deviance . According to McGuire (1986 , early experimental studies have failed to confirm the assumption that mass media have a strong power to change people 's attitudes despite many examples from historical and contemporary observations attesting to the power of the mass media to influence

people

Along the discussion , this article aims for certain relevant issues on the media role in social construction of deviance . It endeavours to show that people can be both afraid and fascinated on deviance or crime as shaped by the media to a certain extent . This article also shows through certain facts and studies , that media can both amplify deviance and create moral panics . Lastly , it also takes note on the reality that media is selective in who and how it treats victims of crime

Deviance and Crime

By definition , deviance generally refers to the behaviour of breaking rules or norm . When taken from this meaning , this term can be synonymous to crime . In fact , crime is a specific form of deviance that technically means breaking of legal norms or rules . Though both terms may seem similar , there are slight significant differences between them In the same way as not all deviance is criminal , some forms of crime are also not seen as particularly deviant

There are still questions as to whether deviance is an absolute or relative concept . The social construction of deviance can be conceptually divided according to historical and cross-cultural differences . Common social examples of historical differences include drug use , abortion , and homosexuality . Cross-cultural differences include dress codes and alcohol use

At different times , different societies and same society have also different interpretations of deviant or non-deviant behaviour . It is then referred to as relative concept of deviance when the same behaviour can be shown to be interpreted differently relative to the culture or subculture in which behaviour is interpreted

Under societal and situational deviance , behaviour that is considered by society as deviant may be acceptable to sub-cultural groups and vice versa . Social deviance is also viewed according to its level of seriousness . In the level of social agreement , seriousness of deviance can be high for serious or low for non-serious . In terms of level of social reaction , deviance can be strong for serious or weak for non-serious . And , for assessment of social harm or injury , it can only be high for serious

It is apparent that in all countries media plays an important role in shaping ideas , fears , and fascinations on crime in society . Throughout the time , people 's perception of crime generally comes from popular media like newss , TV news , films , magazines , books and several crime-related programmes . For this reason , the media plays a very critical role in sensitising the public into perceiving...