Daily Times

Unfortunately what is referred to as a social problem these days originates from constructionism or subjectivism. These modern definitions argue that if a condition is to be considered a social problem it has to be acknowledged by society collectively as harmful

A social problem is the presence of an objectively-determinable, highly destructive or frightening condition. An issue is termed a social problem if it harms or endangers the lives of citizens and their well-being. People don’t always acknowledge such conditions or are not always aware of such conditions; however such conditions continue to silently affect our lives in some manner. Problems which result in the deterioration of the quality of life of a society’s citizens are also defined as social problems. In short a social problem is a discrepancy between “what is and what ought to be.”

Unfortunately what is referred to as a social problem these days originates from constructionism or subjectivism. These modern definitions argue that if a condition is to be considered a social problem it has to be acknowledged by society collectively as harmful.

In the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting, competent American media houses are discussing the bigger problem: gun control. They are less concerned with Steven Paddick himself

This is related to the degree of concern over a given condition by the majority of a society’s members. However how people see certain conditions or issues as social problems is not always based on facts. In today’s world, social problems do not exist objectively; instead, they are constructed by the human mind.

The recent events about a serial killer attacking lone women in the streets of Karachi with a sharp weapon not only instigated public outcry but also attracted the attention of the media and the government. However the declining quality of public universities has neither instigated a similar public outcry nor has it moved the government to take any significant action.Is a serial killer a bigger problem than the deteriorating condition of public universities?

The serial killer scare is the case of social constructionism whereas issues such as the deterioration of public universities are classic candidates for objective determinism. A man attacking women with a sharp knife is bound to get caught and the problem will be resolved immediately. It won’t have long term effects on society’s well-being. However,universities producing under qualified graduates and inferior research are a long term problem and it won’t be resolved until long term measures are taken.

It is interesting to note how the construction (and not the objective determinism) of a problem gives rise to moral panic. The cycle of moral panic may involve the following key stages.When someone, something or some group is defined as a threat to society that threat is depicted in recognisable form by the media.

The portrayal of this symbol rouses public concern which in turn warrants response from the authorities and finally the moral panic over this recognised issue ideally results in social changes within the community.

In the case of the Karachi serial killer, the community thought that he is a ‘concern and threat to the society,and the media gave the issue an image of a knife-wielding psychopath and a vulnerable lone woman. This portrayal roused public concern. Which obviously sucked in law enforcement agencies and policy makers who called for his immediate arrest. However no long term social change occurred, at least in our society (which is most often the case). In fact, what actually happened was that under pressure, the police ended up arresting the wrong people, and the attacks on women continued.

This media frenzy also gave the attacker the publicity that he was seeking, therefore the number of incidents grew. It is also very possible that other disturbed individuals began engaging in ‘copycat’ murders. While there is no doubt that the severity of public concern grew strong with every attack however may I would like to ask Pakistan’s media houses if a serial killer is Pakistan’s number one problem? Certainly not!

Have the media, the public and various other institutions played a sensationalistic role in this problem, exaggerating the extent and severity of attacks? An answer is ‘Yes’ because none of the knife attacker’s victims have received fatal or life altering injuries. Will this serial killer sink his blade into every woman in Karachi? No!

So what are we afraid of? However, the deteriorating quality of public universities is bound to affect each and every household in Pakistan in a countless number of ways.

The media’s obsession with the serial killer in Karachi can be called a ‘moral panic’. Social scares grip the public when they are well informed with solid facts about those problems that will have long term consequences; this information is obtained after the occurrence of certain episodes that instill collective fear in the public.

This accelerates demands from the government to eradicate that problem. Demands for eradicating those problems which will have long term and wide ranging consequences often require responses and solutions that tend to be costly. Therefore unless the social scare doesn’t persist, the government does not provide enough funds to eradicate those problems. If institutions such as media houses, universities and NGOs don’t keep the people informed about the devastating consequences of low quality education.In turn the scare changes into a moral panic and then fizzles out.

It is unfortunate that organisations such as universities, NGOs, and media houses aren’t interested in an issue until the public is panicking about it. However once an issue that had triggered moral panic turns into a problem that can have long term consequences, everyone abandons it. For example, the heat wave of 2013 in which killed hundreds of people in Karachi.

Recent events featuring a serial killer attacking lone women in the streets of Karachi with a sharp weapon have not only instigated public outcry but also attracted the attention of the media and the government. However the declining quality of public universities has neither instigated a similar public outcry nor has it moved the government to take any significant action

The above mentioned institutions all talked about global warming and controlling CO2 emission. However when once public interest in the heat wave dwindled, so did the interest of these organisations. When the heat wave did not come back with the same intensity in 2014, the issue was forgotten completely. In the end nothing was done to restrict greenhouse effects in Karachi. The universities, media houses, NGOs and government must play a role in discussing issues that have long term consequences on society.

In the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting, competent American media houses are discussing the bigger problem; gun control. They are less concerned about where Steven Paddick lived and where his other family members can be caught and harassed. If the media takes hints from public interest before turning something into a moral panic, then we as public too much like other knowledge based economies need to show more interest in issues that have long term effects and less interest in those issues which only capture our interest in passing.

The writer is an Assistant Professor. He tweets at @Prof_MKShaikh

Published in Daily Times, October 10^th 2017.