Social Media and Islamic Youth Character among Indonesian Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/jiis.v6i1.11561Keywords:
Islamic education, youth character, social media, akhlaq, digital ethics, Indonesian studentsAbstract
Social media has become a routine environment in which Indonesian adolescents communicate, imitate social norms, encounter religious and non-religious content, and negotiate their everyday identities. Although previous studies have discussed social media as either a learning resource or a risk environment, less attention has been given to how students’ online experiences can be interpreted through Islamic values and youth character formation. This study examines Indonesian students’ social media practices and the moral concerns observed by parents and teachers. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, the study integrates survey data from 163 Indonesian students with written responses from 38 parents and teachers. Quantitative findings show very frequent social media use, with WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok as the dominant platforms. Students reported positive perceived effects for social interaction and social awareness, but also acknowledged behavioral influence, changes in self-perception, and social-life disruption. Qualitative findings reveal adult concerns about excessive use, reduced responsiveness, imitation of online behavior, weakened discipline, exposure to negative content, and the need for value-based guidance. Integrated interpretation suggests that social media is not merely a communication tool; it is a moral-learning ecology in which character may be strengthened or weakened depending on guidance, self-control, and ethical mediation. Building on akhlaq, amanah, tabayyun, haya’, ukhuwwah, and mujahadah al-nafs, this study proposes Islamic Values-Based Guided Social Media Learning (IV-GSML) as a framework for supporting responsible digital character education in Indonesian Islamic educational contexts.
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