THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE MORAL DEGRADATION OF STUDENTS AND THE MITIGATIVE ROLE OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the patterns of social media use among students, the forms of moral degradation that arise, the influence of social media on moral formation, and the role and effectiveness of Islamic Religious Education in mitigating these negative impacts. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach with a library research method. Research data were obtained through analysis of books, reputable scientific journal articles, and current academic sources relevant to the themes of adolescent morality, social media, and religious education. Data collection techniques were carried out through indexed literature searches, while data analysis used content analysis techniques with data reduction, categorization, data presentation, and conclusion drawing steps. The results of the study show that students use social media intensively with repetitive patterns dominated by entertainment activities, search for self-identity, and visual-based social interaction. This pattern contributes to the emergence of moral degradation in the form of digital aggression, decline in academic integrity, hedonistic behavior, empathy crisis, and weakening awareness of norms of decency and social ethics. The research findings also reveal that social media acts as a new agent of socialization that shapes moral relativism through algorithms, viral culture, and weak direct social control. Islamic Religious Education plays a strategic role as a mitigative instrument through the internalization of values such as honesty, responsibility, manners, and the strengthening of digital literacy based on Islamic values. The effectiveness of the Islamic Religious Education strategy is reflected in changes in prosocial behavior, increased self-control, the development of moral resilience, and the formation of a religious school culture. This study concludes that strengthening Islamic Religious Education is a strategic necessity for building the moral resilience of students so that they are able to face the challenges of the social media era in an ethical, critical, and spiritually-based manner.