Social control (a term that refers to the social processes that regulate the behaviour of individuals or groups) is often used for fear and punishment but is it more widely used to keep us all under control? Formal social control is the creation of external sanctions enforced by law and the government. The criminal justice system (CJS) has agencies of social control such as the Police, the Crown Prosecution Service who have the power to use formal legal sanctions.
Social control and power: who gets to DECIDE what is “normal”?
Social control is designed to create social order and stability in society. As an example, it is used to control the rates of crime such as knife crime. The Ministry of Justice has identified possession of a knife as the most common knife crime offence committed. Young individuals are more involved in knife crime because they will often carry a knife for their own protection and safety. According to the Official National Statistics (ONS), “In the year ending March 2024, there were just over 3,200 knife or offensive weapon offences committed by children resulting in a caution or sentence”.
Elizabeth Newson’s (1994) theory of ‘desensitisation’ argues that the effects of media violence on children were more subtle and gradual. Newson stated that continued exposure to violence in films over several years ‘desensitised’ children and teenagers to violence and that they came to see violence as a norm, and as a viable way of solving problems.
The malign influence of media violence
Social learning theory, as proposed by Albert Bandura, explores how media can influence behaviour through observation and modelling. The Bandura ‘Bobo Doll’ experiment is evidence that media violence can cause children to act more aggressively when given the opportunity to do so. This would explain why young individuals are now more prone to experiment with knife crime and get involved in knife crime, because carrying a knife in modern life is the norm because of the harsh reality of how dangerous it is to be in the 21st century. Over 25 years ago, you could walk the streets with a degree of safety, and now I see females, young women particularly, who will cross over a road when walking down a pathway alone if they spot a male walking on their side of the road.
The ONS carried out research in 2024 in England and Wales regarding children’s perceptions and experiences of violence, and who they trust. Around one in 200, 10 to 15-year-olds, said they had carried a knife in the previous 12 months. It is concerning that this number of children are carrying knives without even realising or fully understanding the consequence. Academia focuses too much on individual motivations and appears to ignore the media’s influence on the audience.
How the media exerts social control and shape’s public opinion
The media can damage public perceptions of crime which, in turn, results in users feeling more confident online and seeking validation from online spaces. While, to some extent, people are in control of their media consumption – having the power to actively choose and take in specific media – they are also interpreting media messages and using those messages in their lives. Everything you see or read on the news is framed in a particular way and may well differ to reality on the ground.
Manipulation is a form of toxic online group behaviour that grooms young people because they are most vulnerable. It makes them feel special, included, or like they have insider knowledge. It is a form of social control that is often used on online platforms to conduct a crime such as county lines. County lines is the name given to describe the illegal exportation of drugs, often formed as a hierarchy. Not everyone online is who they say they are, and this can be a difficult concept for some children to understand. A groomer will use the same sites, games, and apps as children to gain their trust and build a friendship. However, they may also seek to manipulate, extort, and control the child to become involved in county lines, potentially isolating them from their friends and family.
Teaching children about keeping safe online
Talk to your child about ‘red flags’ in chats and explain to them which are important to report, block, and tell an adult about. These would include someone suggesting meeting up offline, asking for personal information, requests to send photos or videos, chats moving to private messages, or asking to keep secrets.
Adolescence: the Netflix series
A recent series has been released on Netflix called Adolescence. Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne’s drama has captured the country’s attention, both for the quality of the drama and the light it shines on the issues facing young people today, which can affect their mental health in new and complex ways. Many parents may be shocked at the portrayal of teenagers’ online life and the distress it can cause. This series has focused on the social stigma that comes with social media and on how the so-called ‘manosphere,’ with its male rage and misogynistic influences online, could affect boys and young men’s mental health and their perceptions of violence.
Not all online communities are healthy, as Adolescence shows to devastating effect. While digital communities lower the bar to expression, this can also lead to a culture of bullying and toxicity which young people have no respite from in an ‘always-on’ culture. Adolescence highlights the toxicity of the manosphere, where misogyny flourishes. This ranges from regressive and erroneous attitudes around gender, all the way through to extreme misogyny on incel and related forums.
The secret language of emojis
The hidden language of emojis is a way for young people to communicate in ways that most adults completely miss due to the generation gap. What looks innocent can have a much darker meaning for example, each heart emoji has a different meaning when used by the younger generation. On the other hand, a heart emoji could look innocent as it could just mean you like/love something. Emojis are also used to distinguish an individual’s feelings or emotions. Emojis are used to manipulate vulnerable audiences into thinking or acting in certain ways based on the type of emoji that is sent to the receiver. The use of emojis is to deceive a young mind into visually representing what they are thinking without having to say the words aloud. Young people have their own digital worlds and use different emojis in conversations, which can often be misinterpreted.
The psychology of media consumption
The hypodermic syringe model is a type of communication model that outlines how media messages are both directly and passively received by audiences – like a syringe injecting information, and leading to immediate and predictable reactions. It is effective in getting the audience to believe what they see in the media without questioning the content. This approach to the effects of the media believes that a direct correlation exists between the violence and anti-social behaviour portrayed in films, on television, in computer games, in rap lyrics, etc., and violence and antisocial behaviour, such as drug use and gun/knife crime, found in real life.
The two-step flow model of communication posits that mass media messages are first received by “opinion leaders”, who then interpret and disseminate them to a wider audience.
The three-step flow model adds a layer of online media and opinion leaders’ online platforms to this process.
These models mean that most people are not directly influenced by mass media; instead, they form their opinions based on the interpretations and opinions of opinion leaders. The three-step flow model builds upon the two-step model by adding that an opinion leader might share their interpretation of a news article about a crime on their social media platform, further amplifying the message and its interpretation to a wider audience.
Setting barriers on media consumption
Perceptions, public opinion, and individual viewpoints can all be influenced by the media. Critical engagement with information and educated media consumption require an understanding of how to use media barriers effectively. Barriers such as curfews, limits to screen time, new apps with parental controls put in place, can be key to reducing media consumption in young individuals. Parents can adjust their parental control by monitoring their children’s use of social spaces as a normal part of parenting, not just as a crisis move, and by having open conversations with their children about what they have heard or know regarding the different meanings of emojis. Creating a judgemental-free zone will help young individuals open up to questioning about their own online content and how they interact with the online world.
Being aware of individual habits online
You may also want to ask yourself questions to gain greater awareness of your own habits such as:
- How much time do you spend per week on a certain app or platform?
- If you are getting news from these digital platforms, do you know the source of their information?
- How do you feel after spending time reading, watching, or listening to the news?
We should all take a step back and acknowledge the risks of excessive social media use and the impact it has on everyone, particularly our children.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
