How might a consumer culture generate crime?

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Contemporary Criminological Theory

How might a consumer culture generate crime?

Currently in society, there is probably no greater influence than the television.  It has become apparent that through this unique mechanism society is unconsciously being moulded. Through television a world of both fantasy and reality is uncovered.  Is society able to distinguish the difference between the two?  Is it possible that through the media society in general is gradually being moulded to personas of fantasy characters?  Do we want to become those in the adverts or television programmes, wanting what is achievable to some but not everyone? Do problems arise when we realise that we can not have that Mercedes, dream house or ‘American Dream’ that we all long for?  Is it then that we turn to crime?

Since the birth of television, crime has increased dramatically according to British Crime Surveys.  The media has the ability to control the ideas of politics and rewrite history right under our noses without us being consciously aware.  This is why vast amounts of money are invested into advertising, because it is inevitable that it works.  We employ ecological issues which relate to our religious beliefs and we let television use its power which manipulates and affects our own values.  The media softens the moral values and the ideas of society and has social and economic consequences on families.  Noticeably, children are mostly affected by advertising.  They watch a show on television, and they begin to want to wear clothing that a particular character wears or clothing that has the symbol of their favourite character. They begin to act like their favourite character. They even respond to their friends and parents as their favourite character would. This has led to children even acting out the violent scenes they have viewed on television in reality.  Previous moral panics have blamed the media for promoting violence. From time to time, the media industry comes under political attack.  Allegations are frequently made that viewing violent media has an adverse affect on the viewer.  It appears that many a time allegations are linked to a particular tragedy at that moment e.g. the Hungerford Massacre(linked to Rambo), the columbine shootings(linked to Doom), the James Bulger murder(linked to Childs Play 3) and these are to name but a few.  

 

Gangsters, flash cars and living a life of luxury are a few among many things society in general has come to acknowledge, enjoy and yearn for.  As the years have progressed, media marketing has lead society to believe that the life of luxury is accessible to anyone and it appears that nowadays some members of society will go through any extent to achieve it.  With the likes of famous footballers such as David Beckham and Thierry Henry promoting mobile phones and flash cars, this is most appealing to the younger generation and such luxurious items is out of reach to many.  The marketing society is being blamed for increases in crime.  If so, the question that one asks is how and why is this happening?

Ten years ago, it was an extreme rarity for any individual to own a mobile phone.  January 2005 and it appears that now a person is deemed of a lower social status if they are without one.  From primary school children to the older generation it is apparent and obvious that mobile phones are no longer a luxury item.  At present as well as being an unconscious status symbol it is the ‘norm to possess one.  

Chairman of the Youth Justice Board, said research showed that the consumer culture had not only made robbery more lucrative but had also motivated offenders in the first place.

"For many of today's teenagers, possessions like mobile phones are a must-have status symbol and some young people have turned to crime to get them.  These particular young offenders have often already accepted that they will not achieve a proper education but they still want what they see as the good things of life and symbols of success."

Meeting the demands of a consumer culture which targets young people is a major factor related to street crime, according to recent reports.  The Young People and Street Crime Report found that the importance among young people, their image, as well as financial and personal factors, were the main triggers in causing them to commit street crime.  The research found that those most at risk of offending were young people with no adult earners in the household, teenage boys with no positive male role models and those alienated from mainstream education. Street crime was also found to be most likely in areas where children from lower class families came into close contact with middle class children.

 

A comment from an 11 year old boy told researchers that it was quite easy to get involved in street crime.

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"Its quick money and also you don't have to go through all those years of education before you can start to earn money. You can start earning money straight away."

The above comment is fear-provoking as how many other members of society are feeling like this and were has it been learnt from.  It is no coincidence that many teenagers involved in gang’s model themselves on gangsters such as the Krays. The glorification of the gangster image in the media is created due to it making lots of money for everybody involved. This provides fertile ground for ...

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