Laws, Rules and Personal Morality
It’s important to make young people aware of the laws that apply to what they do online, as well as to have household rules that cover online behaviour.
It’s important to make young people aware of the laws that apply to what they do online, as well as to have household rules that cover online behaviour.
As we grow, we pass through distinct stages of moral development in which our ethical thinking is based on different principles: the desire to avoid punishment (Stage I) and the desire to obtain rewards (Stage II), which are then followed by a wish to fit in and conform in order please others (Stage III) and a duty to follow rules, laws and social codes (Stage IV). Last comes the sense of participating in a social contract (Stage V) and, finally, a morality that looks to universal ethical principles of justice and the equality and dignity of all people (Stage VI).
Despite all of the concerns about what youth are doing with digital media, MediaSmarts’ study Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) has found that not only are most kids not getting in trouble online, they’re often being actively kind and thoughtful towards people they know.
Empathy is at the heart of ethics. In order to develop a sense of right and wrong that goes past just being afraid of punishment or hoping for a reward, we have to be able to put ourselves in another person’s shoes.
In this lesson, students consider the importance of the written and unwritten rules that make it possible to learn and play together, online and offline.
Media speaks volumes about what is important in a society. What we see in media can have an impact on how we see other groups and how we see ourselves.
Canada’s Broadcasting Act, last amended in 1991, outlines industry guidelines for portrayal of diversity.
Since before Canada became a Confederation, racially and culturally diverse groups have been creating their own media: the first issue of the Provincial Freeman, which was a weekly newspaper edited and published by Black Canadians in the Province of Canada West (now Ontario), was first published on March 24, 1853.
Although the benefits of diverse media are considerable, the creation process can be riddled with challenges.
In much the same way that racialized groups are under- or misrepresented in news media, they are also not accurately portrayed in entertainment media, which tends to reinforce themes that are conveyed in the news. Although positive change is occurring, it is important that media content more accurately and fairly reflect the reality of Canadian multiculturalism.