Social Media and Morality

Annu Rev Psychol. 2023 Oct 31. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-022123-110258. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTNearly five billion people around the world now use social media, and this number continues to grow. One of the primary goals of social media platforms is to capture and monetize human attention. One means by which individuals and groups can capture attention and drive engagement on these platforms is by sharing morally and emotionally evocative content. We review a growing body of research on the interrelationship of social media and morality as well its consequences for individuals and society. Moral content often goes viral on social media, and social media makes moral behavior (such as punishment) less costly. Thus, social media often acts as an accelerant for existing moral dynamics, amplifying outrage, status seeking, and intergroup conflict while also potentially amplifying more constructive facets of morality, such as social support, prosociality, and collective action. We discuss trends, heated debates, and future directions in this emerging literature. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 75 is January 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.PMID:37906950 | DOI:10.1146/annurev-psych-022123-110258

Source: Annual Review of Psychology - October 31, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jay J Van Bavel Claire E Robertson Kareena Del Rosario Jesper Rasmussen Steve Rathje Source Type: research