Lobbying the Collective
Consciousness
Crusaders, Entrepreneurs, and Panics
Ten Claims about Social Control
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Crime is normal and deviance is relative.
Social environments create deviance.
Social control can amplify deviance.
Breaking rules can be good for society.
Deviance can be a form of conflict resolution.
6. Every rule is somebody's rule.
7. Social control is the dependent variable.
8. Legal social control is rare.
9. Organizations present special problems.
10. Social Control can get out of hand.
Schedule
• Lecture 1: Overview & Rhetoric Intro
• Lecture 2: How to create a social problem
• Lecture 3: Moral panics
Readings
•
•
•
•
•
•
Becker (entrepreneurs)
Gusfield (alchohol)
deYoung (daycare)
Potter (cyberporn)
Reinarman (drugs)
Best (missing children)
From Yesterday to Today
• Society/Groups as boundary maintaining
– normal
• Boundary testers may be good/necessary
– Functions, innovation
• Boundary testing as complaint
– From Klasse an sich to Klasse für sich
• Now: Rules do not change spontaneously
It takes (social) work
What is a moral crusader?
What is symbolic politics?
What is a moral panic?
• associated with Stanley Cohen, British sociologist, Folk Devils and Moral
Panics (1972).
• DEF. Process in which an individual, group, or practice gains (sudden)
notoriety as a threat to society resulting in efforts to control it.
• Paradigmatic examples
– Salem witch scare (Erikson in Wayward Puritans)
– Red scare (1950s).
– Also more local : crime panics.
• Characteristics: a social response that involves
–
–
–
–
–
rapidly spreading concern
growing hostility towards the group or practice
broad and unquestioned acceptance of the threat
disproportional response
volatility whereby the issue can disappear as quickly as it surfaced
Rhetoric & Claimsmaking
• aka “how to create a social problem” (or
target for social control)
• RHETORIC : language intended to persuade
• Rhetorical work : effort undertaken to get an
audience to reach a conclusion
Components of an Argument
• Grounds –basic facts as foundation for discussion
• Warrants – how to reach conclusions from grounds
• Conclusions – calls for action – "what must be done"
Example
• I am a British citizen.
• I was born in Bermuda.
Example
• You should wear a hearing aid
• I notice you don’t often hear what I’m saying
• Hearing aids help people hear.
Example
• Congress should ban animal research because
animals are tortured in experiments that have
no necessary benefit for humans such as the
testing of cosmetics. The well being of animals
is more important than the profits of the
cosmetics industry.
• Congress should ban animal research (Claim
#1) because animals are tortured in
experiments that have no necessary benefit
for humans such as the testing of cosmetics
(Data). The well being of animals is more
important than the profits of the cosmetics
industry (Warrant).
Let’s Look at Best
What is the warrant?
• Needle exchange programs should be
abolished [claim] because they make it safer
to use drugs. [grounds]
The unstated warrant is: “when you make
risky behavior safer you encourage more
people to engage in it.”
Common Warrants
• Generalization
What is true of an example holds for larger population
• Analogy
Extrapolating from one case based on similarity to another
• Argument via Sign/Clue
Certain types of evidence are symptomatic of something bigger. Smoke>Fire.
• Causality
Y is the result of, or is affected by, factor X.
• Mixing up correlation with causation
• Falling into the post hoc, ergo propter hoc trap. ('after the fact, therefore because of the fact').
• Argument from Authority
X said so and X is an authoritative source on the issue
• Argument from Principle
This is based on a principle/value that is widely regarded as valid
Components of an Argument
•
Grounds – the basic facts which provide foundation for discussion
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
Warrants – Statements that justify drawing conclusions from grounds (Selective list)
–
–
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•
Definitions
Domain Statements – “discovery” (ADD, hyperkinesis, depression, PTSD, “do you …., then you may have …”).
Definitions, setting of bounds, helping people to recognize it.
Orientation Statements – Including redefining problems as medical, say, or legal.
Examples
Estimating extent of problem
Incidence estimates
Growth estimates
Range claims
Blameless victims
Affiliated Evils
Deficient Policies
Historical Continuity
Rights and Freedoms
Conclusions – calls for action – "what must be done" – best expert plans as to how to intervene –
symbolic steps that are called for at once – what you all should demand
–
–
–
Awareness
Prevention
Social Control Policies
Becker (entrepreneurs)
Gusfield (alchohol)
deYoung (daycare)
Potter (cyberporn)
Reinarman (drugs)
Best (missing children)
Warrants
•
•
•
•
•
•
Generalization
Analogy
Indication
Cause
Authority
Principle
Toulmin Model of Argumentation
Grounds
Claims
Warrant
Reservation
Backing
Qualification
Argument based on Generalization
• What is true of a well chosen sample holds for
larger group or population.
http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/toulmin_model.h
tm
Argument based on Analogy
• Since A is like B, some aspect of A has an
analog in B.
http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/toulmin_model.h
tm
Argument via Sign/Clue
• One thing is evidence or symptomatic another.
• Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/toulmin_model.h
tm
Causal Argument
• A thing is result of, or effected by, factor X.
• But watch out for:
– Mixing up correlation with causation
– post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy
– (after the fact, therefore because of the fact).
http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/toulmin_model.h
tm
Argument from Authority
• X is expert and X says so
http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/toulmin_model.h
tm
Argument from Principle
• A widely accepted principle applies
http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/toulmin_model.h
tm
Checking in with Facebook Comes Everyday
with Hidden
Dangers
act is
actually dangerous
A simple click on your smart phone could unknowingly put you in danger. Social networking sites have
made it easy, but do you know who is watching your every move?
Easy forit the
guys
On Facebook,
is as bad
simple
as hitting the "check in" button. It's not just about what can happen to you
when you're away from home, but what could be happening when you're not there that could really
cost you.
A cell phone and a car is all we needed to find Cathy Howell. She checked in at the Sugar Patch Lounge.
A quick tap on the screen gave us a map and directions to the bar in West Baton Rouge Parish.
A quick drive over the Mississippi River and we were there. It didn't take us long to find Howell. She was
sitting at the bar, just feet from the front door.
"I'm here because you checked in on Facebook that you are at the Sugar Patch Lounge," Reporter Cheryl
Mercedes said. "Oh, yeah, we did," Howell replied. "It was really easy to find you. Do you normally
check in here," Mercedes asked. "Uh huh, to let people know where I'm at," Howell explained.
Howell says she checks in everywhere.
"So these are all the places you've checked in," Mercedes asked. "In my bed, house, John Deere tractor,"
Howell said.
Checking in with Facebook Comes with Hidden Dangers
She's not the only one who checks in at home. A lot of people do.
Facebook puts you in the neighborhood. While it won't always take you to the exact spot on the map, if
someone really wants to find you, it does not take that much effort.
Misty Baker checked in at home. The Google map took us to a neighborhood in Zachary, but did not give
us a street name. No problem. We explored Baker's profile a bit, saw she was married to "Reggie",
looked it up in on Whitepages.com, and there was an address and a list of people in her household.
When we knocked, a guy named Jesus Ramos came to the door.
"It took me here, to your house," Mercedes said. "But she's not living here. She's living somewhere
else," Ramos said.
It appears the Bakers moved recently. Their listing had not been updated.
In Baton Rouge, Peggy Johnson was working on a painting at "Corks and Canvas." We spotted her first
from the window, and asked her to step outside. She did not seem too concerned with the fact that we
found her.
Checking in with Facebook Comes with Hidden Dangers
Atrocity tale
"The people on my Facebook are friends and family," Johnson said.
She changed her mind after 9 News shared a story with her out of Indiana. A woman there reportedly caught a
childhood friend on camera ransacking her house while she was out listening to a band. The woman in Indiana's status
update said, "Heading to the Hill with Kurt to see Fire Department." That was enough for a pair of burglars to walk off
with $11,000 worth of her stuff.
David Ferris supervises the State Attorney General's High Technology Crime Unit. He said so far this year his team has
spoken to about 180,000 people about "checking in." Ferris said social networking sites, like Facebook, keep him and
his team busy.
Extent of problem
"The trends are constantly changing, so it's been difficult for us to keep up with the new trends," Ferris said.
Ferris said while the fads will always advance, the concept remains the same.
Deficient policies/practices
"If you post online that this is where I am. I want everybody to come see me. Again, you're saying this is also where I
am not. It's the same as giving the key to your house to a burglar," Ferris said.
Because the "check-in" feature is still pretty fresh, the Attorney General's Office does not yet have a report that shows
exactly how many cases stem from people checking in.
On a scale of one to ten, how important is
your child's safety? If you answered with a
resounding TEN please read on.
On a scale of one to ten, how important is your child's safety? If you answered with a resounding
TEN please read on.
FACTS
• The alarming results of
the Teenspeak survey of
500 13- to 17-year-olds
found 18% had come
face-to-face with a
stranger they first came
into contact with on the
social networking site.
• Social networking sites
do not have a way to
regulate and verify ages!
• Social networking sites
do not have a way to
regulate true identities!
• Registered sex offenders
can sign up for social
networking sites under
false identities!
• Children/teens are the
most likely to become
friends online with
people they don't know!
• 42% of children/teens
have been bullied online!
Today, nearly all parents possess an arsenal of safety products. From car seats and bike helmets, to
house alarms and smoke detectors, parents use anything they can to keep their children safe.
Unfortunately, neither a loud alarm nor the best helmet money can buy will keep your children safe
from the most serious threat your children face…the dangers found on social networking sites like
facebook and Myspace. Today's predators don't need to stalk their victims from a distance. Today's
bullies don't need to physically hit your child to inflict serious pain. Today, stalking takes place on
computer screens where bullies are typing their threats on facebook’s profile pages. Before social
networking sites came into existence, parents had to worry about keeping their children safe out in
the real world but their home was considered a sanctuary. However, this is no longer the case.
Today, children and teens live in a world where the most serious dangers they may encounter could
be their “friends” online!
Parents don’t
know. Not their
fault. (innocent)
As a coach and mentor of children and teens in my local community, I realized most parents are
aware these sites can be dangerous but lacked the knowledge and understanding of how to protect
their children from them. I also realized it wasn't the parents fault; there was a serious lack of
information available to them. Even parents who use these sites seem relatively clueless as to how
to keep their kids safe from the potential risks. In an effort to solve this problem by educating
parents, I created A Parent's Guide to Social Networks.
A Parent's Guide to Social Networks arms parents with straight forward information that can be easily
understood and applied. When I wrote A Parent's Guide to Social Networks, I wanted parents to see all
aspects of social networks. I wanted them to realize that some common aspects of social networks
considered by many to be "safe" can actually be dangerous. I also wanted them to understand that
some of the dangerous aspects of social networks can, in fact, be used to a parent's advantage to
keep their children safe. The information contained within this guide will undoubtedly open the
eyes of all its readers. It is the most important piece of literature you will read regarding the safety
of your children this year!
You worry
about X but
not Y?!
Think About It…
• You know your child has 20
good friends, who are the
other 700 friends they
have on Facebook?
• Half of all 12-year-olds in
the U.S. are using social
network sites, despite not
meeting the minimum age
requirements for sites like
Facebook.
• 13 million users under the
age of 18 may be allowed
to share their personal
information just like adult
users.
• MORE THAN 50% list
mobile numbers and email
addresses - on their
Facebook or MySpace
profile.
• 64% of 13-year-olds are
social networking.
• 82% of 14 to 17-year-olds
are social networking.
The 5 Facebook Dangers Perils That Have Nothing to Do
With Internet Predators
By Jackie Burrell, About.com Guide
Posting on Facebook, MySpace and other social networks is a favorite pastime for teens and 20somethings - and they remain a great way for families
to keep in touch - but recent headlines have yielded some caveats that have nothing to do with the usual “predators lurk everywhere” issues. Here
are five Facebook dangers your college kid or young adult may never have thought about.
Facebook and college admissions: It's a bad idea to post dicey photos or racy prose on social networking sites, no matter how private teens may
think they are. According to a 2008 Kaplan study, one in 10 college admissions officers routinely check out college applicants’ Facebook and
MySpace pages. And some 38% of them found posts and pictures that reflected poorly on those prospective students. It wasn’t even necessarily that
they’d posted provocative or hard partying photos. In some cases, students had simply written disparagingly about the campuses they toured.
Grad school and careers: Business and medical school admissions officers surf social networking sites in even greater numbers than their undergrad
brethren. So do prospective employers, none of whom are impressed by posts that holler “Par-tay!
Fellow students: It’s not just admissions officers doing the surfing. Some upper classmen at the University of Redlands were so incensed by partying
comments made by several incoming freshmen on the Redlands Facebook group site, they showed the posts to college officials. College
administrators said they called the teens’ parents a few weeks before school began to have a little talk.
Courtroom consequences: Unfortunate Facebook postings can have serious legal repercussions too. One of the first things attorneys do with a new
case is search online for information about plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses alike. In one Rhode Island case, a 20-year-old’s drunk driving
accident, which severely injured another youth, could have resulted in a relatively light stint at county jail or the considerably more severe state
prison. But, as the prosecutor in the case quickly discovered, two weeks after the accident, while his victim was still in the hospital, the youth posted
photos on Facebook of himself at a Halloween party, prancing around in a prisoner costume. He was sentenced to two years in state prison.
Child pornography charges: Posting or sending photos of oneself or friends in scanty clothing or sexually suggestive poses may be a popular pastime
among the younger set, but if any of the people posing are under 18, the practice may result in child pornography charges. There were several such
cases in 2008, including an Ohio 15-year-old who was charged with child pornography after sending nude cell phone images of herself to friends. At
the time, officials in Licking County considered charging recipients of those images as well. It's one thing to be charged with sending or receiving
child pornography as a minor, but those charges in adult court may carry not only prison time, but a lifetime of registering as a sex offender.
May 11, 2010 5:39 PM
Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook
By CBSNews
Facebook claims it has 400 million users. But are they well-protected
from prying eyes, scammers and unwanted marketers?
Not according to Joan Goodchild, senior editor of CSO (Chief Security
Officer) Online.
She says your privacy may be at far greater risk of being violated than
you know when you log onto Facebook, due to security gaffes or
marketing efforts by the company.
Facebook came under fire this week, when 15 privacy and consumer
protection organizations filed a complaint with the Federal Trade
Commission, charging that the site, among other things, manipulates
privacy settings to make users' personal information available for
commercial use. Also, some Facebook users found their private chats
accessible to everyone on their contact list - a major security breach
that's left a lot of people wondering just how secure the site is.
In two words, asserts Goodchild - not very.
On "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," she spotlighted five dangers
she says Facebook users expose themselves to, probably without aware
of it:
• Your information is being shared with third parties
• Privacy settings revert to a less safe default mode after each redesign
• Facebook ads may contain malware
• Your real friends unknowingly make you vulnerable
• Scammers are creating fake profiles
Is Facebook a secure platform to communicate with your friends?
Here's the thing; Facebook is one of the most popular sites in the world.
… Security holes are being found on a regular basis. … It is not as
inherently secure as people think it is when they log on every day.
Certainly, there are growing pains. Facebook is considered a young
company and it has been around a few years now. It is continuing to
figure this out. They are so young they are still trying to figure out how
they are going to make money. They don't even have a revenue model
yet. It is hard to compare this to others; we have never had this
phenomenon before in the way people are communicating with each
other - only e-mail comes close.
The potential for crime is real. According to the Internet Crime Complaint
Center, victims of Internet-related crimes lost $559 million in 2009. That
was up 110 percent from the previous year. If you're not careful using
Facebook, you are looking at the potential for identity theft, or possibly
even something like assault if you share information with a dangerous
person you think is actually a "friend." One British police agency recently
reported the number of crimes they've responded to in the last year
involving Facebook climbed 346 percent. These are real threats.
Lately, it seems a week doesn't go by without some new news about a
Facebook-related security problem.
Earlier this week, a publication called "TechCrunch" discovered a security
hole that made it possible for users to read their friends' private chats.
Facebook has since patched it, but who knows how long that flaw
existed? Some speculate it may have been that way for years.
May 11, 2010 5:39 PM Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook By CBSNews
Last month, researchers at VeriSign's iDefense group discovered a hacker was selling
Facebook user names and passwords in an underground hacker forum. It was
estimated he had about 1.5 million accounts - and was selling them for between $25
and $45.
And the site is constantly under attack from hackers trying to spam these 400
million users, or harvest their data, or run other scams. Certainly, there is a lot of
criticism in the security community of Facebook's handling of security. Perhaps the
most frustrating thing is that the company rarely responds to inquiries.
Do people really have privacy on Facebook?
No. There are all kinds of ways third parties can access information about you. For
instance, you may not realize that, when you are playing the popular games on
Facebook, such as Farmville, or take those popular quizzes, every time you do that,
you authorize an application to be downloaded to your profile that you may not
realize gives information to third parties.
Does Facebook share info about users with third parties through things such as
Open Graph?
Open Graph is a new concept for them - they unveiled it last week at a conference.
It actually is basically a way to share the information in your profile with all kinds of
third parties, such as partner websites, so they can have a better idea of your
interests and what you are discussing, so they can - as they portray it - "make it a
more personal experience."
The theory behind Open Graph - even if they have not implemented it - is their
whole business model, isn't it?
Well, that is the business model - they are trying to get you to share as much
information as possible so they can monetize it by sharing it with advertisers.
Isn't it in Facebook's best interest to get you to share as much info as possible?
It absolutely is. Facebook's mission is to get you to share as much information as it
can so it can share it with advertisers. As it looks now, the more info you share the
more they are going to with advertisers and make more money.
It is not only sharing the information: Isn't there a security problem every time they
redesign the site?
Every time Facebook redesigns the site, which happens at least a few times a year, it puts
your privacy settings back to a default in which, essentially, all of your information is
made public. It is up to you, the user, to check the privacy settings and decide what you
want to share and what you don't want to share.
Facebook does not notify you of the changes, and your privacy settings are set back to a
public default. Many times, you may find out through friends. Facebook is not alerting
you to these changes; it is just letting you know the site has been redesigned.
Can your real friends on Facebook also can make you vulnerable?
Absolutely. Your security is only as good as your friend's security. If someone in your
network of friends has a weak password and his or her profile is hacked, he or she can
now send you malware, for example. There is a common scam called a 419 scam, in
which someone hacks your profile and send messages to your friends asking for money claiming to be you - saying, "Hey, I was in London, I was mugged, please wire me money."
People fall for it. People think their good friend needs help - and end up wiring money to
Nigeria.
A lot of websites we use display banner ads, but do we have to be wary of them on
Facebook?
Absolutely: Facebook has not been able to screen all of its ads. It hasn't done a great job
of vetting which ads are safe and which are not. As a result, you may get an ad in your
profile whey you are browsing around one day that has malicious code in it. In fact, last
month there was an ad with malware that asked people to download antivirus software
that was actually a virus.
Is too big a network of friends dangerous?
You know people with a lot of friends, 500, 1000 friends on Facebook? What is the
likelihood they are all real? There was study last year that concluded that 40 percent of
all Facebook profiles are fake. They have been set up by bots or impostors. If you have
500 friends, it is likely there is a percentage of people you don't really know and you are
sharing a lot of information with them, such as when you are on vacation, your children's
pictures, their names. Is this information you really want to put out there to people you
don't even know?