March 23, 2015
Overall, a median of 64% across 32 emerging and developing nations say the internet is a good influence on education, with at least half also seeing it as a good influence on personal relationships (53%) and the economy (52%).
However, many believed it had a negative effect on morality:
A median of 42% say it is a bad influence on morality, while only 29% see the internet as a good influence. And in no country surveyed does a majority say that the internet’s influence on morality is a positive.
The study notes that for many developing and emerging countries, easier access to the Internet has accounted for widespread use in places where being online used to be very difficult. But some countries like India and Pakistan still have low access rates, with only 20 percent of residents online in the former and just 8 percent in the latter.
The Internet has proven to be an effective tool for real social change in many of the countries surveyed. Social media, for example, was an important platform for protesters in Egypt just a few years ago.
Conversely, the idea that the Internet could help foster poor morals in individuals isn't a new one. A 2009 study explored how Twitter and Facebook can emotionally detach children from situations, making them potentially less empathetic.
View the Pew Research Center's complete findings here.
