The effects of social media on the values development of high school students

Moral development is closely related to the individual's value system. Values are the basic beliefs and principles that determine how an individual will act in society, which attitudes they will adopt, and how they will direct their behaviour. In this study, the impact of social media use on young people's value systems is addressed as an important research topic. While social media platforms provide an area that shapes young people's individual and social values, they can also lead to a conflict between the values popular on these platforms and personal moral values. In particular, the adolescence process, which is a critical turning point in the development of moral maturity, can be directly affected by the information, interaction, and modelling behaviours obtained through social media. In this context, our study examined the social media habits of high school students and the effects of these habits on moral development based on the concept of value. Our study includes participant distribution based on demographic characteristics such as gender, age, type of school, field of education, and income status. The social media habits and moral maturity of the participants were also evaluated. Correlation analysis, regression models, and independent sample t-tests were used to examine the relationship between social media attitudes and moral maturity in our study. The results showed a significant negative correlation between the moral attitude scale and the general social media attitude scale. Regression analysis revealed that the social media attitude scale had a significant effect on moral maturity, especially in the relationship with teachers' subscale. Gender differences were observed, with girls showing higher levels of specific social media attitudes and moral maturity. However, no significant differences were noted among the various age groups. The study found a significant negative correlation between social media attitude and moral maturity. Gender differences were observed, with girls showing higher levels of social competence and sharing. No significant differences were found by age or school type. Frequency of social media use influenced social attitudes, with weekly users showing higher levels. Our study provided valuable insights into the complex interaction between social media use and moral maturity among high school students. It highlighted the need for further research and potential intervention strategies to address the impact of social media on moral development. Our findings have implications for educators, policy makers, and parents in promoting responsible social media use and moral development among high school students.