| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 傳播所 === 91 === The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between teenagers’ media use (TV variety shows and Internet on-line games) and their moral judgment. In this study, we designed questionnaires about variety shows, moral judgment and on-line games based on the moral cognitive-development approach, cultivation theory and social learning theory. Five hundred and twenty-three freshmen from ten junior/senior high schools around Taiwan were surveyed.
The results indicated that teenagers in Taiwan often exposed themselves to TV programs and the Internet. Between these two mass media, variety shows and on-line games are teenagers’ favorites. According to the questionnaires, four main factors for teenagers to watch variety shows were: (1) the identification with attending and responding, (2) the agreement on the controversy parts, (3) the preference and motivation, and (4) the identification with valuing; four main factors to play on-line games were: (1) the identification with recreation and attending, (2) the competition and challenge, (3) the agreement on the controversy parts, and (4) the agreement on the inappropriate behaviors.
The results showed four major findings: there were significant relationships between population variables and the moral judgment, the principle scores became higher with the age, teenagers with high family socio-economic status had higher scores on the moral judgment, and females had higher scores on the moral judgment than their male counterpart. In search of the effects of the mass media, the relationship between watching variety shows, playing on-line games and the population variables were not so clear; however, generally speaking, watching variety shows were in proportion to playing on-line games.
For the issue of exposure frequency in mass media, it was found that there was a negative relationship between teenagers’ exposure in variety shows and their moral judgment, which means teenagers spending more time on variety shows get lower principle scores. However, it is also found that little relationship between the exposure frequency in playing on-line games and moral judgment. Teenagers’ preference for a certain kind of variety show had some impacts on their moral judgment, but their preference for a certain kind of on-line game did not show the impacts. Teenagers’ moral judgment was negatively related to their motivation for watching variety shows and their competition and challenge for playing on-line games.
For the issue of character identification, no relationship was found between teenagers’ moral judgment and their identification with the host, but there was an negative relationship between moral judgment and their identification with roles in the on-line games, which means teenagers with more identification with roles in the on-line games get lower principle scores. Moreover, teenagers’ attitude toward controversy parts and inappropriate behaviors in the variety shows and on-line games was negatively related to their moral judgment, which means the one who agrees more with the controversy parts in the variety shows and on-line games gets lower principle scores.
In this study, teenagers were not viewed as a vulnerable and ignorant group, nor they lack of critical thinking ability. We hope that this study can help media producers and receivers be more conscious of the issues. With discussing teenagers’ use of the mass media from several aspects, it is hoped that we can offer media and education researchers a new avenue to concern about the teenagers’ moral judgment and their media use.
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