The Utilization of Social Media as a Means of Da'wah among Islamic Religious Education Students

Abstract

The rapid development of information and communication technology has driven the transformation of da'wah practices from conventional spaces into the digital realm, including among students of Islamic Religious Education (PAI) who occupy a strategic position as digital natives and future religious educators. This study aims to: (1) describe the forms of social media utilization as a means of da'wah among PAI students; (2) analyze the content strategies developed across various social media platforms; and (3) identify the supporting and inhibiting factors of its implementation. The method used is library research with a content analysis approach applied to relevant national and international scientific sources published within the last ten years. The findings reveal three main results. First, PAI students utilize social media in various forms of digital da'wah, ranging from Islamic educational content and spiritual motivation to interactive da'wah through Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. Second, effective content strategies are characterized by creative visual packaging, light yet meaningful narratives, posting consistency, and the use of credible digital preachers as reference figures. Third, key supporting factors include ease of technological access, broad audience reach, and the high population of young social media users, while inhibiting factors include low Islamic digital literacy, limited time and data quota, platform algorithms that do not always favor da'wah content, and the risk of misinformation and polarization. This study emphasizes the importance of strengthening digital da'wah literacy and integrating digital competencies into the PAI curriculum so that students can serve as competent, ethical, and impactful digital preachers.