Media, Relative Deprivation and Crime

• Lea and Young 1996 (left Realism): ‘the mass media have disseminated a standardised image of lifestyle, particularly in the areas of popular culture and recreation, which, for those unemployed and surviving through the dole queue or only able to obtain employment at very low wages , has accentuated the sense of relative deprivation’ 
• Merton: pressure to conform to the norm can cause deviant behaviour when the opportunity to achieve by legitimate means is blocked. Media instrumental in setting the norm and thus in promoting crime.