Child and Adolescent Cultural-Social Research

Child and Adolescent Cultural-Social Research

A Phenomenological Inquiry into Adolescents’ Perception of the Ethic in Cyberspace

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mostafa Moradi 1
Marzieh Aali 2
Mohammad Bagheri Dadokolai 3
1 Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Education, University of Tehran. (Corresponding author)
2 Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Education, University of Tehran, Iran. Email: m.aali@ut.ac.ir
3 PhD student in Philosophy of Education, .Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran M.bagheri.d@ut.ac.ir
10.22083/cssca.2025.536897.1075
Abstract
Introduction: Rapid transformations in the digital world have profoundly reshaped adolescents’ perceptions, interactions, and moral decision-making processes. Cyberspace-characterized by anonymity, minimal restrictions, easy access to diverse content, and the influential presence of celebrities-creates a context in which traditional moral boundaries are redefined. Given that adolescence is a critical period for moral identity formation, understanding adolescents’ lived experiences of morality in digital environments is particularly important. This study aimed to explore and describe Iranian adolescents’ moral experiences in virtual spaces and to identify the components shaping their ethical understanding, thereby providing a multilayered perspective on digital morality among youth.
Method: A descriptive phenomenological approach was employed, following Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis. Ten adolescents aged 13 to 19 from Sari were selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews lasting 20–30 minutes until theoretical saturation was achieved. To enhance credibility, strategies such as participant validation, field notes, and concurrent data analysis were implemented. The analysis yielded 21 major themes, categorized into three overarching dimensions: contextual factors, moral/immoral behaviors, and consequences.
Findings: Adolescents’ moral understanding is shaped within a digital environment whose structural characteristics play a pivotal role. Key contextual factors included:
Anonymity, increasing boldness, reducing self-regulation, and facilitating unethical behavior.
Limited restrictions, such as weak age limits and minimal oversight, creating a perception of cyberspace as unbounded.
Parental influence, which could be positive or negative depending on supervision, emotional connection, and role modeling.
Artificial competition, fostering jealousy, social comparison, and peer pressure.
Boredom and the pursuit of pleasure, leading to excessive use and risky behaviors.
Networked interactions, amplifying peer and influencer effects.
Participants reported a range of moral and immoral behaviors, including:
Impulsive imitation of influencers, trends, and peers.
Intentional immoral acts driven by desires for attention, validation, or visibility.
Viewing pornography as immoral, with some considering it a natural aspect of adolescence.
Emphasizing intention over appearance in moral evaluation.
Adherence to ethical principles, such as respect, non-harm, and the Golden Rule.
Condemning rumor-spreading as highly unethical.
Normalizing cross-gender interactions as part of common human relationships.
Identified consequences of digital moral and immoral behaviors included:
Addiction and psychological dependency.
Psychological harm from social comparison and fear of judgment.
Weakening of family foundations due to inappropriate challenges, jokes, or sharing of private content.
Overshadowing of previous positive behaviors by single immoral acts.
Overall, these findings suggest that adolescents’ moral understanding is a multilayered phenomenon shaped by the interplay of digital structures, social learning, and individual situational factors.
Conclusion: Morality in digital spaces is a complex construct shaped by three primary domains:
Structural features of digital platforms, such as anonymity and minimal restrictions.
Social learning processes, influenced by parents, peers, and influencers.
Situational decision-making, rooted in personal needs, motivations, and emotional states.
Adolescents demonstrate potential for ethical conduct-respecting privacy, applying the Golden Rule, and exercising responsibility-while remaining vulnerable to impulsive and unethical behaviors. Effective moral education should therefore be multidimensional, encompassing media literacy, critical thinking, emotional regulation, parental education on digital ethics, and structural safeguards in online platforms. These findings underscore the need to reconceptualize morality in digital environments, accounting for their unique characteristics while preserving core societal ethical values.
Keywords
Phenomenology
adolescents
ethics
cyberspace
Subjects
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