Social Media's Influence on Young Adults' Spiritual Development and Positive Religious Coping: A Qualitative Investigation

Abstract

This study examines how social media shapes spiritual development and positive religious coping among young adults aged 18–25. Employing a qualitative descriptive design, eleven participants from India, the United States, Russia, and Mauritius engaged in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's (2022) framework yielded four themes: (1) Underlying Spiritual Structures and Spectrum of Socialization; (2) Digital Awareness as a Catalyst for Knowledge Fortification and Pluralism; (3) Negotiating Religious Coping: From Digital Sanctuary to Manual Ritual; and (4) Digital Distrust and the Crisis of Authenticity. Findings indicate that while social media expands access to spiritual content and provides short-term emotional comfort, most participants retained greater trust in offline, embodied practice for sustained religious coping. Participants with stronger pre-existing spiritual foundations demonstrated greater cognitive resilience when engaging with digital faith content. A pervasive concern regarding misinformation, algorithmic curation, and the commercialisation of faith was evident across the sample. These insights contribute to the growing literature on digital religion and psychological well-being, with implications for clinical practice, educational settings, and platform ethics.