Measuring Moral Panic Propagation on the Interpersonal Level: Case of Pro-ana Women Bloggers

INTERaction. INTERview. INTERpretation. 2022. Vol. 14. No. 1. P. 33–57.

Mikhaylova O.

Despite the large number of papers devoted to the analysis of moral panic, research

is lacking on methods to measure moral panic propagation on the interpersonal

level. This article addresses that gap, suggesting a methodological approach that

could be applied to studies of moral panic propagation by interpersonal interactions.

Based on the pairing of ego-network analysis and biographical interviews, this

method measures the influence of personal social contacts on an individual’s

participation in a moral panic. To demonstrate the capabilities of this methodology,

I examine the obesity moral panic propagation. I conceptualize pro-ana women as

moral panickers who diffuse moral panic on obesity and analyze 50 biographical

interviews with Russian-speaking pro-ana women bloggers along with their public

online diaries. The study findings are discussed in relation to obesity moral panic

research. The potential and limitations of the approach are shown in the moral

panic propagation analysis.

Keywords: obesity, biographical method, moral panic, ego-networks, pro-ana, moral panic propagation