Facebook obstructing children’s moral development: Poll

London: Nearly half of the parents in Britain think
heavy social media use is hampering their children’s moral development, a
British poll revealed on Saturday.

Only 15 per cent of parents thought
that popular social media websites such as Facebook provided a positive
influence on a young person’s character, said the poll from the Jubilee Centre
for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham.

The team of researchers found that 40
per cent of parents were “concerned” or “extremely
concerned” about the negative and potentially harmful impact of social
media.

“There are some surprising
findings in the poll, not the least the low level of agreement that social
media can enhance or support a young person’s character or moral
development,” lead researcher Dr Blaire Morgan said in a university
statement.

According to the report, 24 percent of
the respondents said forgiveness and self-control were the qualities that were
least present in them, followed by honesty (21 per cent), fairness (20 per
cent) and humility (18 per cent).

“Sixty percent of parents named
anger and hostility as the most negative trait displayed, followed by arrogance
(51 per cent), ignorance (43 per cent), bad judgment (41 per cent) and hatred
(36 per cent),” the report noted.

Meanwhile, the top five character strengths
promoted at least once a month on social media sites were identified as humour
(52 per cent), appreciation of beauty (51 per cent), creativity (44 per cent),
love (39 per cent) and courage (39 per cent).

IANS