From the norms on social media to young people’s online aggressive behavior: the mediating effect of moral disengagement
Yunpeng Tan, Liyao Huang, Xiao Wang, Zhenwei LiangPurpose
In the social media era, cyberspace can foster undesirable norms that erode moral boundaries and fuel cyber aggression, especially among young people. Integrating the Theory of Normative Social Behavior and the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study systematically explores how external norm (online social norm [OSN]) and internal norm (group consistency [GC]) influence Chinese youth’s online aggressive behavior (OAB) through the mechanism of moral disengagement (MD).
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among 1,092 Chinese young people via a professional online platform. Structural equation modeling was conducted using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS), version 24.0, whereas PROCESS Macro version 3.4 was employed to examine the hypothesized moderation effects within the proposed framework.
Findings
Both OSN and GC are positively correlated with OAB; GC significantly strengthens the relationship between OSN and OAB; MD positively mediates the relationship between OSN and OAB. Critically, within the Chinese collectivist context, external norms are more likely to activate MD among youth than internal norms.
Originality/value
This research investigated the normative formation mechanism of OAB, clarifying that within the Chinese collectivist culture, the external norm is more likely to activate the MD mechanism. This provides empirical evidence for normative theory within a non-Western cultural context. The study reveals a deep-seated cultural logic of moral norm operation. These findings offer a theoretical basis for understanding online deviance and provide new avenues for cross-cultural cyber governance and the cultivation of future digital citizenship.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: Link to the website