Research Article Analysis

Citation 

Lau, Wilfred W.F., and Allan H.K. Yuen. "Internet Ethics of Adolescents: Understanding Demographic Differences." Computers & Education 72 (2014): 378-85. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.12.006.  

Summary  

This study looked at adolescents/digital natives and their likelihood to participate in unethical digital behaviors such as unauthorized acts, internet stickiness*, and plagiarism (Lau and Allan 2014, pp. 378). According to the authors, adolescents lack the experience and knowledge to make ethical decisions, and now, with information at their fingertips, digital natives have an even harder time making ethical digital decisions (Lau and Allan 2014, pp. 378).  

The overarching research question for this study was: Are there any differences in between gender and SES in unethical digital behaviors among digital natives? 

The authors of this study used the four component model of moral behavior, developed by Narvaez and Rest to analyze the unethical behaviors of adolescents (Lau and Allan 2014, pp. 380). This model suggests that our key psychological components must be developed for a person to be morally mature and correct. The four key components are moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation, and moral character. Once these components are developed, a person is able to recognize issues when they occur, make accurate judgments, take appropriate action and have the character to maintain morality throughout their life. Students were given an online survey to complete in order to participate in this study. 

The research population consisted of 8th grade students from Hong Kong during the 2011/2012 school year. The data of 825 students from 36 schools was analyzed. This population was 48% male and 52% female and the average age of the students was 13. 85% of the students had four or more years of experience using computers and the internet (Lau and Allan 2014, pp. 380).  

According to this study, male students participate in more unethical behavior than female students, and students from low SES families also tend to behave more unethically than students from high SES families. 

According to the authors, educators must play a role in teaching students how to have ethical behavior online (Lau and Allan 2014, pp. 383). They encourage educators to have their students participate in hypothetical situations to help develop moral and ethical behavior.  

There were several limitations in this research project including the need to look at the four components as a developmental process, considering cyberbullying as one of the unethical behaviors, considering social and cultural variables in the research, using qualitative measures instead of just quantitative, developing a longitudinal study to understand the cause of unethical behavior (Lau and Allan 2014, pp. 384). 

Conclusions 

After reading this research, I understand more than ever the need for educators to be proactive in helping students develop moral and ethical behavior when dealing with digital media. Many times, adolescents do not have the experience or mental maturity and development to make ethical decisions on their own. It is our job to guide them to learn best practices for using digital media. This research confirms my project of creating a professional development program for educators in order to teach them how to guide students to use the internet and digital resources properly.


*Example of Internet Stickiness: feeling unease when there is no internet online access for a certain period.