Moral Values

Values are conditions or ideals which people in a specific society cherish. For instance, most European societies cherish the ideal of individualism while African societies cherish the ideal of sharing. This does not mean that, those who practice the value of sharing are good or bad, nor does it presuppose that those practicing individualism are right or wrong. It simply means that, each society choses values it considers important.

Moral values, however, are different. They are conditions or ideals that society considers important for its survival. They are ideals without which society collapses, disintegrates, and ceases to exist. More significantly, moral values are used to determine what is socially acceptable and what is not. In other words, moral values are ideals or principles which are used to determine what is good or bad and what is right or wrong. Moral values are used when an individual or community interacts with the wider world or when an individual or community makes a decision that has consequences on others. It is also worth noting that, moral requirements or values are permanent, universal and independent of specific situations.

1. African cultural traditions and customs
2. The government or the state
3. Religion
4. Reason

Generally there various moral values but for the sake of Tanzania context the focus has only being limited to those which have direct bearing to our nation are mentioned, namely, freedom, equality, unity, justice, and honesty.

1. They provide the goals of society
2. They set moral standards
3. They are the source of peace, stability and harmony
4. They are the source of development
5. They shape the moral conduct of its people

The indicators of eroded moral values in our society are discussed in the following section.

1. Unethical public servants
2. Social evils
3. Mob justice
4. Laziness

1. Globalisation
2. Social injustice
3. Science and technology
4. Poor parental care
5. Poverty
6. The abandonment of African culture

1. Corruption
2. Increase of crimes
3. Homeless children
4. Misunderstandings or conflicts
5. Environmental pollution and degradation

The culture of a society is manifested in its values, norms and practices. Technology always affects various aspects of culture such as language, art, education, and religion. A society's culture acts as a standard for perceiving, judging and evaluating technology. As technology affects all the components of culture, it determines the direction of cultural development. People use technological devices to achieve their goals, but a cultural downfall may occur owing to a lack of regulations on how technology should be used. The development of science and technology is crucial for socio-economic development but, should comply with the moral values of a particular society.

Positive effects

The following are the positive effects of technological development to our cultural and moral values:

1. Transfer of science and technology
2. Transparency and accountability
3. Protection of human rights
4. Enhancing good leadership

Negative effects

Apart from being important in the economic, social, and cultural spheres science and technology has the following negative effects on cultural and moral values:

1. Destruction of our culture
2. Misuse of social media and the internet
3. Moral decay in families
4. Prevalence of cybercrime