Bringing contemporary ethics down to earth for generation Z: A study of moral values in digital disruption and its implications for educational leadership
Keywords:
Contemporary Ethics, Generation Z, Morality, Digital Disruption, Ethics Education
Abstract
Purpose – This study addresses the urgent need to understand and apply ethical principles for Generation Z in the context of rapid digital disruption. With the proliferation of social media, artificial intelligence, and algorithm-driven interactions, young people face unique moral challenges, including empathy erosion, moral relativism, the spread of misinformation, and normalization of symbolic violence online. The purpose of this research is to explore how moral values can be recontextualized so they remain meaningful, practical, and normative for Generation Z, empowering them to navigate digital environments responsibly and thoughtfully.
Method – The research employs a qualitative-descriptive literature review approach. Primary sources include contemporary ethical theories, studies in digital sociology, and scholarship on moral education. Data collection involved selecting relevant academic articles, books, and reports addressing ethics in digital contexts. Analysis was conducted through thematic coding, comparing ethical frameworks with observed trends in Generation Z’s digital behavior, and synthesizing insights on applicable strategies for moral development in online spaces.
Findings – The study finds that contemporary ethics for Generation Z should be grounded in dialogical, contextual, and participatory approaches. Key values identified include digital responsibility, social empathy, justice, critical literacy, and awareness of the consequences of online actions. Generation Z is not merely a target for moral instruction but an active participant capable of shaping ethical frameworks based on lived digital experiences. Effective moral development requires integration of ethics into educational curricula, family guidance, and digital ecosystem design, ensuring that ethical principles are both adaptive and firmly rooted in normative foundations
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References
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Hefner, C.-M. (2022). Morality, religious authority, and the digital edge. American Ethnologist, 49(3), 359–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.13088.
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Lane, B. (2025). Socially disruptive technologies, moral progress, and rule following. Philosophy & Technology, 38(2), 64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-025-00897-2.
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Naham Al-Khafaji, M. M. I. R. (2025). Between freedom and regulation: A review of freedom of expression and its legal limits in the digital media age. International Journal of Historical and Social Studies, 185–200. https://doi.org/10.65252/ijhss.2025.521.
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Van Bavel, J. J., Robertson, C. E., del Rosario, K., Rasmussen, J., & Rathje, S. (2024). Social media and morality. Annual Review of Psychology, 75, 311–340. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-022123-110258.
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Zeng, J., & Abidin, C. (2021). ‘#OkBoomer, time to meet the Zoomers’: Studying the memefication of intergenerational politics on TikTok. Information, Communication & Society, 24(16), 2459–2481. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1961007.
Zuboff, S. (2020). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. New York, NY: PublicAffairs.
Andok, M. (2024). The impact of online media on religious authority. Religions, 15(9), 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091103.
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Brady, W. J., Jackson, J. C., Lindström, B., & Crockett, M. J. (2023). Algorithm-mediated social learning in online social networks. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(10), 947–960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.06.008.
Brady, W. J., McLoughlin, K., Doan, T. N., & Crockett, M. J. (2021). How social learning amplifies moral outrage expression in online social networks. Science Advances, 7(33), eabe5641. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe5641.
Castellanos, M., Wettstein, A., Wachs, S., & Bilz, L. (2024). Direct and indirect effects of social dominance orientation on hate speech perpetration via empathy and moral disengagement among adolescents: A multilevel mediation model. Aggressive Behavior, 50(1), e22100. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.22100.
Civila, S., Romero-Rodríguez, L. M., & Aguaded, I. (2021). Symbolic-discursive violence and new media: An epistemological perspective. Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies, 13(1), 43–61. https://doi.org/10.1386/cjcs_00038_1.
Coeckelbergh, M. (2023). How to do robots with words: A performative view of the moral status of humans and nonhumans. Ethics and Information Technology, 25(3), 44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-023-09719-5.
Coeckelbergh, M. (2021). How to use virtue ethics for thinking about the moral standing of social robots: A relational interpretation in terms of practices, habits, and performance. International Journal of Social Robotics, 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-020-00707-z.
Council of Europe. (2025). The DCE planner: A curriculum framework for digital citizenship education. Strasbourg Cedex: Council of Europe.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Djafarova, E., & Foots, S. (2022). Exploring ethical consumption of Generation Z: Theory of planned behaviour. Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, 23(3): 413–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-10-2021-1405.
Drałus, D., & Wichłacz, M. (2025). The performativity of weaponized language: Manipulation, power, and resistance. Roczniki Nauk Społecznych, 53(1), 93–110. https://doi.org/10.18290/rns2025.0011.
Ezquerra Fernández, M., Bonales Daimiel, G., Ezquerra Fernández, M., & Bonales Daimiel, G. (2024). Exploring digital identity: Factors shaping Generation Z’s women self-presentation on TikTok. SOCIAL REVIEW: International Social Sciences Review / Revista Internacional de Ciencias Sociales, 12(2), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.62701/REVSOCIAL.V12.5420.
Freire, P. (2014). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th Anniversary ed.). New York, NY: Continuum.
Fussey, P., & Roth, S. (2020). Digitizing sociology: Continuity and change in the internet era. Sociology, 54(4), 659–674. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520918562.
Giddens, A. (2003). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Ginting, L. S. D. B. (2025). Information literacy and Gen Z oversharing on Instagram. Indonesian Research Journal in Education (IRJE), 9(2), 694–707. https://doi.org/10.22437/irje.v9i02.43239.
Gkeredakis, M., Lifshitz-Assaf, H., & Barrett, M. (2021). Crisis as opportunity, disruption and exposure: Exploring emergent responses to crisis through digital technology. Information and Organization, 31(1), 100344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2021.100344.
Globig, L. K., Holtz, N., & Sharot, T. (2023). Changing the incentive structure of social media platforms to halt the spread of misinformation. eLife, 12, e85767. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85767.
Gorea, M. (2021). Becoming your ‘authentic’ self: How social media influences youth’s visual transitions. Social Media + Society, 7(3), 20563051211047875. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211047875.
Habermas, J. (2007). The theory of communicative action: Volume 1: Reason and the rationalization of society (T. McCarthy, Trans.). Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Harrison, T., & Polizzi, G. (2022). (In)civility and adolescents’ moral decision making online: Drawing on moral theory to advance digital citizenship education. Education and Information Technologies, 27(3), 3277–3297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10710-0.
Hefner, C.-M. (2022). Morality, religious authority, and the digital edge. American Ethnologist, 49(3), 359–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.13088.
Joyner, L., Buchanan, T., & Yetkili, O. (2023). Moral leniency towards belief-consistent disinformation may help explain its spread on social media. PLOS ONE, 18(3), e0281777. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281777.
Karabatak, S., & Karabatak, M. (2020, June). Z generation students and their digital footprints. In 2020 8th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS) (pp. 1–5). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISDFS49300.2020.9116455.
Kentmen-Cin, C. (2025). Hate speech on social media: A systemic narrative review of political science contributions. Social Sciences, 14(10), 610. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14100610.
Lane, B. (2025). Socially disruptive technologies, moral progress, and rule following. Philosophy & Technology, 38(2), 64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-025-00897-2.
Moser, C., den Hond, F., & Lindebaum, D. (2022). Morality in the age of artificially intelligent algorithms. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 21(1), 139–155. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2020.0287.
Muntaha, D. A. H., & Saifudin, W. (2025). Gen Z construction in developing expertise profiles on social media. Journal of Communication Studies, 5(2), 131–145. https://doi.org/10.37680/jcs.v5i2.7725.
Naham Al-Khafaji, M. M. I. R. (2025). Between freedom and regulation: A review of freedom of expression and its legal limits in the digital media age. International Journal of Historical and Social Studies, 185–200. https://doi.org/10.65252/ijhss.2025.521.
Peng, L. (2025). A sociopsychological analysis of the current phenomenon of youth subculture explosion in the Z generation. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media, 106, 159–163. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/2025.CB25679.
Prasanna, M., & Priyanka, A. L. (2024). Marketing to Gen Z: Understanding the preferences and behaviors of next generation. IJFMR - International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2024.v06i04.26612.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon: The International Journal of Learning Futures, 9(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816.
P Puryear, C., Vandello, J. A., & Gray, K. (2024). Moral panics on social media are fueled by signals of virality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 127(1), 84–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000379.
Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory. New York, NY: Praeger
Rofik, M., Narto, A., & Bhoki, H. (2025). Character education management strategies to address the negative impacts of social media use on youth. Scaffolding: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam dan Multikulturalisme, 7(3), 692–707. https://doi.org/10.37680/scaffolding.v7i3.8161.
Rustanta, A., Putranto, S. D., & Huang, P. (2025). Maintaining the digital public space: Communication ethics and regulatory challenges in the TikTok era. Jurnal Komunikasi, 17(1), 63–83. https://doi.org/10.24912/jk.v17i1.32927.
Sazali, H., Matondang, A. R., Mukhtar, D. Y., & Rasyidah, R. (2024). Virtual violence and new media ethics: The boundary between legitimate and harmful expressions. Jurnal Kawistara, 14(3), 382–400. https://doi.org/10.22146/kawistara.98627.
Schmid, U. K., Kümpel, A. S., & Rieger, D. (2024). How social media users perceive different forms of online hate speech: A qualitative multi-method study. New Media & Society, 26(5), 2614–2632. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221091185.
Schuster, N., & Lazar, S. (2025). Attention, moral skill, and algorithmic recommendation. Philosophical Studies, 182(1), 159–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-023-02083-6.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039.
Szymkowiak, A., Melović, B., Dabić, M., Jeganathan, K., & Kundi, G. S. (2021). Information technology and Gen Z: The role of teachers, the internet, and technology in the education of young people. Technology in Society, 65, 101565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101565.
Irocchi, S. (2024). Generation Z, values, and media: From influencers to BeReal, between visibility and authenticity. Frontiers in Sociology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1304093.
Trang, N. M., McKenna, B., Cai, W., & Morrison, A. M. (2023). I do not want to be perfect: Investigating Generation Z students’ personal brands on social media for job seeking. Information Technology & People, 37(2), 793–814. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-08-2022-0602.
UNESCO. (2024). Q&A: Why digital global citizenship education is essential. UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/qa-why-digital-global-citizenship-education-essential.
Valčo, M. (2024). Impact of social media platforms’ AI algorithms on human values. Vietnamese Journal of Philosophy, 4(70), 53–64.
Van Bavel, J. J., Robertson, C. E., del Rosario, K., Rasmussen, J., & Rathje, S. (2024). Social media and morality. Annual Review of Psychology, 75, 311–340. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-022123-110258.
Zed, M. (2004). Metode penelitian kepustakaan. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
Zeng, J., & Abidin, C. (2021). ‘#OkBoomer, time to meet the Zoomers’: Studying the memefication of intergenerational politics on TikTok. Information, Communication & Society, 24(16), 2459–2481. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1961007.
Zuboff, S. (2020). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. New York, NY: PublicAffairs.
Published
2026-05-11
How to Cite
Rosmita, R., Susanti, L., Zulamri, Z., Rubani, M., & Ghozali, A. (2026). Bringing contemporary ethics down to earth for generation Z: A study of moral values in digital disruption and its implications for educational leadership. Indonesian Journal of Educational Management and Leadership, 4(1), 112-131. https://doi.org/10.51214/ijemal.v4i1.1893
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rosmita Rosmita, Listiawati Susanti, Zulamri Zulamri, Mardhiah Rubani, Achmad Ghozali
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