Parents and Social Media and Empathy and Authenticity Online are two new research papers published by the Jubilee Centre. The papers comprise the outputs from a 3-year study that examined how social media use relates to young people’s experience and enactment of empathy and honesty, and their identification with moral virtues. The two papers are available to view here.
Parents and Social Media
In response to parental concerns about the impact of social media on young people’s character and moral development, the Parents and Social Media research paper focuses on parental regulation of adolescents’ social media use, with a particular emphasis on morally salient scenarios involving the virtues of empathy and honesty. The research provides practical advice and reassurance on strategies to regulate social media use in young people, especially in situations where moral values are implicated.
Empathy and Authenticity Online
The Empathy and Authenticity Online research paper explored the psychological constructs that encourage and discourage empathy and authenticity in the online environment. The findings indicate that moral identity is more strongly related to moral traits online and that by encouraging the development and accessibility of moral identity (through parental strategies, educational programmes, and priming accessibility, for instance) it may be possible to promote moral thoughts, feelings and behaviours when interacting in the online environment.