Offensive acts and helping behavior on the internet: An analysis of the relationships between moral disengagement, empathy and use of social media in a sample of Italian students

Issue title: Special Section: Ergonomics in a Global World

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Parlangeli, Oronzo^{; *} | Marchigiani, Enrica | Bracci, Margherita | Duguid, Alison Margaret | Palmitesta, Paola | Marti, Patrizia

Affiliations: Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali, Politiche e Cognitive, Universitá di Siena, Siena, Italy

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Oronzo Parlangeli, Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali, Politiche e Cognitive, Universitá di Siena. Via Roma 56, 53100, Siena, Italy. Tel.: +39 577 232217; E-mail: oronzo.parlangeli@unisi.it.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:The phenomenon of cyberbullying is on the rise among adolescents and in schools. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the relationship between personality characteristics such as empathy, the tendency to implement cognitive mechanisms aimed at moral disengagement, and the use of social media. PARTICIPANTS:Italian students from first to fifth year in high school classes (n = 264). METHODS:A questionnaire was used to gather information on the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, their use of social media, their level of empathy (Basic Empathy Scale, BES), and mechanisms of moral disengagement (Moral Disengagement Scale MDS). Two questions were included to determine whether each participant had ever been a victim of or witness to cyberbullying. RESULTS:Results suggest that offensive behaviors are related to mechanisms of moral disengagement and to interaction using forms of communication that allow anonymity. In addition, offensive behavior appears to be related to forms of Internet addiction, while prosocial behavior is linked with cognitive empathy. CONCLUSION:In order to promote the establishment of prosocial behavior, it would seem necessary for the various players involved – schools, parents, social network developers – to make an effort to implement educational environments and virtual social networks based on a hypothesis of “design for reflection”, educating young people about the need to take the time to understand their feelings and relationships expressed via social media.

Keywords: Cyberbullying, educational environments, reflective thinking, internet addiction, ethics

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-192935

Journal: Work, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 469-477, 2019