Understanding Social Incivility among Youth: The Predictive Role of Digital Culture and Moral Disengagement

Digital culture has influenced every aspect of young people's lives in the twenty-first century, influencing their communication, education, identity expression, behavioral practices and social engagement. The explanatory study examined the relationships between digital culture, moral disengagement and social incivility among university students. The quantitative, cross-sectional survey research used to gather inclusive information about study variables among university students. The sample comprised 300 university students, gathered using a structured questionnaire based on a quantitative correlational design. The study was conducted with reference to two theoretical frameworks: social cognitive theory, and Moral disengagement theory. The results showed that the multiple regression model was statistically significant, explaining 25.2% of the variance in social incivility among university students. Digital culture and moral disengagement are significant positive predictors of social incivility, with digital culture having a larger predictive influence. The spearmen’s correlation findings show that digital culture and social incivility have statistically significant correlated for university students who are used to engaged in digital culture, more exposed to social incivility in their behavior. While digital culture is positively correlated with moral disengagement but statistically not significant. The study results also highlight that interactional norms that are experienced in digital environments might be especially significant to understanding social incivility, and that moral disengagement may help students to rationalize their behavior. The results overall indicate responsible digital citizenship, ethical online communication, and moral responsibility of university students.