A wave of public fear in which a group or activity is cast as a threat to society, with the danger exaggerated by media and campaigners. Fantasy games have been targets repeatedly, above all in the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.
Origin
Developed by sociologist Stanley Cohen in Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972).
Quick answers
- What does "Moral panic" mean?
- A wave of public fear in which a group or activity is cast as a threat to society, with the danger exaggerated by media and campaigners. Fantasy games have been targets repeatedly, above all in the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.
- Where does the term "Moral panic" come from?
- Developed by sociologist Stanley Cohen in Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972).