Neumann, D., & Rhodes, N. (2023).
New Media & Society, 26(2), 1096-1126.
(Original work published 2024)
Abstract
Social media platforms have been adopted rapidly into our current culture and affect nearly all areas of our everyday lives. Their prevalence has raised questions about the influence of new communication technologies on moral reasoning, judgments, and behaviors. The present scoping review identified 80 articles providing an overview of scholarly work conducted on morality in social media. Screening for research that explicitly addressed moral questions, the authors found that research in this area tends to be atheoretical, US-based, quantitative, cross-sectional survey research in business, psychology, and communication journals. Findings suggested a need for increased theoretical contributions. The authors identified new developments in research analysis, including text scraping and machine coding, which may contribute to theory development. In addition, diversity across disciplines allows for a broad picture in this research domain, but more interdisciplinarity might be needed to foster creative approaches to this study area.
Here are some thoughts:
This article is a scoping review that analyzes 80 articles focusing on morality in social media. The review aims to give researchers in different fields an overview of current research. The authors found that research in this area is generally atheoretical, conducted in the US, uses quantitative methods, and is published in business, psychology, and communication journals. The review also pointed out new methods of research analysis, like text scraping and machine coding, which could help in developing theories.
Social media has rapidly become a major part of our culture, impacting almost every aspect of daily life. It provides digital spaces where people can learn socially by watching and judging the moral behaviors of others. The easy access to information about moral and immoral actions through social media can significantly influence users' moral behaviors, judgments, reasoning, emotions, and self-views. It's vital for psychologists to understand how social media affects moral reasoning, judgments, and behaviors. This understanding is key to addressing any negative impacts of social media, especially on young people, and to creating strategies that encourage positive online behavior.