Social media harms children's morals, parents think

A new study by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at Birmingham University has found that parents believe that social media damages children's morals. A group of researchers surveyed 1,700 people aged between 11 and 17. Answering questions on social media use, 55 percent of participants said that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter undermine children's morals, although they regularly use social media themselves. According to the BBC, the study results were surprising. "Not least [of these is] the low level of agreement that social media can enhance or support a young person's character or moral development. Whilst parents acknowledged that positive character strengths, including moral virtues such as love, courage and kindness are promoted through social networking sites, they were reluctant to agree that these sites could have a positive impact on their child's character," researcher Blaire Morgan said. Only 15 percent said that social media has a positive effect on children, and 40 percent reported that "they were concerned or extremely concerned about social media having a potentially damaging impact on children." Another interesting finding is that a large number of the surveyed parents agree that they have seen anger and hostility on social media. "Social media is not going away, so by learning more about this relationship we should be able to maximize the benefits of social media use and avoid the pitfalls," Morgan further told the BBC. A previous study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) also showed that young children consider receiving "likes" on social media to be rewarding. Parents also acknowledge the positive aspects of social media but concern remains for many.