Swipe-Right

The Algorithm Feeds are Reshaping Character and Values in the Classroom.

The classroom has always been a crucible for moral development, a place where values like honesty, respect, and empathy are consciously modelled and taught. For generations, this formation was influenced by family, community, and carefully vetted curricula. Today, a powerful new player has entered the arena, one that fits in a student’s pocket: TikTok. Its relentless, algorithmically-driven stream of content is not just entertainment; it is a pervasive and potent curriculum of its own, presenting a unique set of challenges and opportunities for moral regeneration in our schools.

The traditional model of moral education was linear and authoritative. Values were presented, discussed, and reinforced. The TikTok model, by contrast, is chaotic, relational, and driven by engagement metrics. It champions a "swipe-right morality" where complex ethical positions are reduced to 60-second videos, nuanced debate is side-lined by performative outrage, and a person's worth is often measured in likes and shares. This environment cultivates what psychologists term an "empathy gap"; the distance created by a screen makes it easier to mock, cancel, or dehumanize others without witnessing the immediate, emotional consequences of one's actions.

Key challenges emerging in this landscape include:

• The Performance of Character: Virtues like kindness and integrity are becoming performance metrics. Acts of charity are filmed for clout, and standing up for a cause can be more about signalling one's own virtue to an online tribe than about genuine solidarity. This complicates the teacher's role in fostering authentic character.

• The Velocity of Judgment: TikTok's culture operates at lightning speed. A mistake made by a student can be recorded, uploaded, and turned into a public shaming spectacle before a teacher even hears about the incident. The slow, thoughtful processes of restorative justice are anathema to the platform's demand for immediate, often punitive, judgment.

• The Erosion of Shared Truth: When students' information diets are curated by personalized algorithms, a shared factual foundation for ethical discussion crumbles. A debate on a complex issue can't even begin if students are operating from entirely different sets of "facts" delivered by their For You pages.

So, what is the path to moral regeneration? The solution is not to ban phones and retreat to a pre-digital past—a futile endeavour. Instead, schools must become hubs of critical digital literacy. This means moving beyond teaching how to use technology and focusing on how to resist and critique it.

Moral education must now include lessons on:

• Algorithmic Awareness: Helping students understand that their For You page is not a neutral window to the world, but a carefully constructed reality designed to keep them engaged.

• Deconstructing Performance: Analysing viral videos to ask: What is the motivation behind this act of "kindness"? What is not shown in the frame? This builds critical discernment.

• Slowing Down the Reaction: Actively teaching and practicing pause-button principles—strategies for stepping away from the impulse to share, comment, or judge immediately.

The goal is not to provide students with easy answers, but to equip them with the critical tools to navigate a moral landscape that is constantly shifting beneath their feet. In the TikTok age, moral regeneration begins not with a list of rules, but with the ability to question the very platform that is writing them.