Does the internet influence the character virtues of 11 to 14 year olds in England? A mixed method study with particular regard to cyber-bullying

After providing an overview of the context of the study, initially arguments are presented as to why adopting a character based, as opposed to rules or consequences based moral theory is preferential for investigations into the Internet. The ensuing empirical research involves an in-depth and systematic survey undertaken in two sequential phases; phase one comprised a questionnaire chiefly aimed at providing a statistical exploration of the key issues identified in the literature review and phase two involved semi-structured group interviews which were designed to provide additional qualitative data on one particular moral issue - cyber-bullying. This evidence shows that the Internet presents both risks and opportunities for the development of character virtues; in particular, the moral virtues of honesty and compassion. The research demonstrates that it is the character virtues of Internet users, as well as the features of the technology itself, that ultimately determines online behaviour. These findings have implications for those tasked with developing strategies for dealing with online moral issues, and attest to an urgent need for the development of new interventions that will help educate the next generation as virtuous digital citizens