Ethical dilemmas in the use of social media by students in public senior secondary schools in Gaborone, Botswana.

Abstract

This study investigates the ethical dilemmas experienced by students in their use of social media in public senior secondary schools in Gaborone, Botswana. Anchored in the Potter Box Model of Ethical Reasoning, classical ethical theories (Deontology, Consequentialism, and Virtue Ethics), and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Framework, the study aimed to explore the nature of these dilemmas, examine how students resolve them, and analyse the role of teachers and parents in supporting adolescents’ ethical decision-making. A mixed-methods research design was adopted. Four senior secondary schools in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana, were purposively selected from a total of 33, and 346 students were systematically sampled from a population of 3,296, and qualitative data were collected through interviews with teachers and parents. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-square, correlation, regression, and t-tests) alongside thematic analysis. Findings revealed that frequent dilemmas related to privacy, freedom of expression, access to information, digital safety, and cyberbullying were experienced. These dilemmas are often navigated without structured ethical guidance from schools or families, exposing significant gaps in digital ethics education. The study culminated in the development of the BOTHO Digital Ethics Model (BDEM), a contextually grounded framework designed to guide responsible social media engagement among adolescents. The study contributes to theory by extending the applicability of the Potter Box Model to adolescent digital contexts in Africa, to practice by informing capacitybuilding initiatives for teachers and parents, and to policy by advocating the integration of structured digital ethics education into the senior secondary curriculum. The findings underscore the urgent need for collaborative school–home partnerships and strengthened ethical governance in adolescent digital engagement.