Challenges of Digital Media in the Moral Education of Elementary School Students and Providing Preventive Solutions

The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges of digital media in the moral education of elementary school students and providing preventive solutions. The method of the present research is qualitative and descriptive-analytical type (qualitative content analysis) and inferential. Research findings showed; the most important challenges of digital media in moral education of students include norm-breaking, lawlessness, wavering of educational status of parents and educators, weakening of educational and moral virtues, daily life and destruction of critical thinking, attention to luxury and unnecessary needs, privacy violation. Also, monitoring the optimal use of digital media (including setting a limiting framework and strengthening interpersonal and group interactions), creating a model face in the rational use of media (including managing the time and amount of use, managing and monitoring media content, maintaining privacy), avoiding media innocence, cultivating critical thinking skills and learning media literacy are the most important preventive strategies. In the end it can be concluded as follows; if digital media in line with the goals of moral education of the of the educational institution can not educate morally aware, knowledgeable, capable and responsible children, in the future, the acceptance of its competencies by related stakeholder groups will be questioned.