cooter group" and " wild ones invade seaside". Cohen's main criticism of the media coverage was that it was subject to exaggeration and distorted facts, with phrases such as " orgy of destruction" and "marauding mob" and an amplification of the numbers involved. What began, as a minor incident became, in the eyes of the public, a violent event that would come to be repeated. The upshot of this incident was that society formed a stereotypical view of these young men as deviants and troublemakers, a view based on a distorted truth perpetuated by the media.
             Beginning with the Mods and Rockers to the present day, the extensive force of the mainstream media has been mobilised against those perceived as threats to our children, our families and the moral values at the heart of our society. Moral Panics are not a new phenomenon and they tend to occur " at times when society has not been able to adapt to dramatic changes" and when these changes lead those in authority to express fear over what is seen as a loss of control; there is a general feeling of lack of control and declining standards.
             At such times people tend to group into a sort of social collective. They can then identify victims on which all that is wrong in society may be blamed. This helps society feel more secure and assured, they have a scapegoat or, as described by Cohen, a " folk devil" to blame. Cohen talks of these folk devils as " the gallery of types that society erects to show its members which roles should be avoided and which should be emulated. These groups have occupied a constant position as folk devils; visible reminders of what we should not be".
             Stanley Cohen's theory showed how the media directed so much negative attention onto teenagers and how youth have always been an easy target. Cohen believed that in order to create a Moral Panic the right ingredients must be involved. Firstly a suitable enemy, a target who holds little power and for this reason yout...