KNOWLEDGE OF ETHICS AND USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS: A COMPARISON STUDY BETWEEN ISLAMIC AND NON-ISLAMIC STUDIES STUDENTS

Abstract

New media have been used in our life, especially by young generations. Following the 'blogging' phenomenon, social networks have become very popular among users around the world. Ethics reflect a community's ideas about the rightness or wrongness of an act and the distinction between virtue and vice. It raises several questions if the knowledge of ethics is significantly related to the ethical use of the Internet. This paper aims to examine the level of knowledge on ethics and the use of social networking. Besides, it identifies a relationship between knowledge of ethics and social networks among Islamic studies students compared to non-Islamic studies students. This study employs a quantitative approach using a survey of 311 university students randomly selected, of which 164 are students from Islamic studies and 147 are from non-Islamic studies backgrounds. This study reveals a positive correlation which is rather moderate. Both variables are moderately correlated in which changes in the first variable are likely correlated with the changes in the second variable. The T-test indicates significant differences between the background of study and knowledge of ethics. It is found that the background of the study determines the knowledge level of ethics. The ethical usage level of social networks does not indicate any differences between Islamic and non-Islamic studies. Since this study involves Malays by ethnic groups, a study that involves non-Malay students can be an extension of this study, resulting in a better explanation of the knowledge of ethics concerning the ethical use of social networks.