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A Moral Education

Moral Education for Digital Natives

Laura D’Olimpio discusses the moral role for teachers of digital denizens.

Much is made these days of the fact we live in a post-truth society, and that, despite our instant access to more information than ever before, we still seek out the stories that reinforce our existing beliefs and biases. What role should educators play in assisting digital natives to navigate this murky online realm?

‘Post-truth’ was the Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year for 2016, defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. This phenomenon is not new: there have always been tricksters, scammers, and cheats. Yet social media have the tendency to amplify: both constructive and destructive voices have become more urgent and sensationalised than ever previously. Students require the skills that enable them to critically sift through the vast amount of information on the net, yet they also need to engage compassionately with diverse ideas.

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