Internet ethics of adolescents: Understanding demographic differences

Abstract

The current generation of adolescents, who are generally described as digital natives, have greater access to and are greater consumers of information than previous generations. However, adolescents are notably at-risk when they are confronted with ethical decisions since they may lack the necessary knowledge and experiences to discern and make the right decisions. This study investigated how the demographic variables of gender and socio-economic status (SES) influence the internet ethics of 825 Secondary 2 (Grade 8) students aged 11 to 16 in Hong Kong. Three unethical behaviours, namely, unauthorised acts (UNAC), internet stickiness (INST), and plagiarism (PLAG) were examined. Results revealed that male students tended to engage in more unethical behaviours than did female students. Also, students from low SES families tended to behave more unethically than did students from high SES families. Implications for educators and researchers are discussed with reference to the four component model of moral behaviour, which has been widely used to articulate internal psychological processes including moral sensitivity, moral judgement, moral motivation, and implementation that are commonly found in all moral acts.