Students’ Experiences at Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu in Accessing Digital Da’wah through Social Media

Abstract

The rapid expansion of social media has transformed how university students access and engage with religious information, shifting da’wah from predominantly face-to-face settings to digital platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Although this transformation has broadened access to religious content, it also raises concerns regarding the depth of religious understanding and the credibility of information encountered online. This study aims to describe the social media usage patterns of students at Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu in accessing digital da’wah, analyze their motivations, and examine its influence on their religious understanding and practices. A descriptive qualitative approach with a field research design was employed. Informants were purposively selected from active university students who use social media and have accessed digital da’wah content. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentation and analyzed using the Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña model through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. The findings indicate that students primarily access digital da’wah through Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube because of their accessibility, flexibility, and perceived usefulness for increasing religious knowledge. However, frequent exposure tends to encourage brief, incidental, and passive content consumption. Digital da’wah exerts a stronger influence on students’ moral awareness and everyday religious attitudes than on the depth of their religious knowledge and consistency in ritual practices. Although students recognize the importance of verifying religious information, their verification practices remain largely dependent on the perceived credibility of religious figures. The study concludes that digital da’wah facilitates access to religious learning but does not necessarily translate into deeper religious understanding or consistent religious practice. These findings contribute to the literature on digital religion and youth religious engagement by demonstrating the differing effects of social media-based da’wah on knowledge, attitudes, and practices, while highlighting the practical importance of strengthening digital religious literacy among university students.