Digital Socialization: Social Media’s Role in Shaping Students’ Values and Norms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61987/jsse.v4i2.3000Keywords:
Social Media, Agents of socialization, Values and norms, Digital literacyAbstract
This study aims to analyze the role of social media as an agent of socialization in shaping university students' values and norms, and to identify variations in its influence across different higher education contexts. A qualitative approach employing a case study design across three universities was utilized. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis involving university leaders, bureau heads, deans, faculty members, and students between July and September 2025. Data analysis was conducted interactively through data condensation, data display, verification, and cross-site comparison. The findings indicate that social media plays an active role in value formation by broadening perspectives, shaping self-identity, facilitating digital interaction, and influencing habits and behaviors. This influence is ambivalent, offering benefits regarding information and networking while simultaneously posing risks of dependency, anxiety, and impaired academic focus. In conclusion, the influence of social media is gradual, interactive, and contextual. Consequently, higher education institutions need to strengthen digital literacy, media ethics, and social media governance.
References
Ahmad, E. A. (2024). Revolutionizing Learning: Leveraging Social Media Platforms for Empowering Open Educational Resources. International Journal of E-Learning and Higher Education (IJELHE), 19(1), 83–106. https://doi.org/10.24191/ijelhe.v19n1.1915
Al-Emran, M. (2023). Beyond Technology Acceptance: Development and Evaluation of Technology-Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability Theory. Technology in Society, 75, 102383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102383
Al-Zoubi, A. (2023). Digital Technology and Changes in Media Consumption: A Case Study of Smartphone and App Usage. International Conference on Business and Technology, 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54019-6_39
Amelia, L. T. D., & Balqis, N. R. (2023). Changes in Communication Patterns in the Digital Age. ARRUS Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(4), 544–556. https://doi.org/10.35877/soshum1992
Astleitner, H., & Schlick, S. (2025). The Social Media Use of College Students: Exploring Identity Development, Learning Support, and Parallel Use. Active Learning in Higher Education, 26(1), 231–254. https://doi.org/10.1177/14697874241233605
Ausat, A. M. A. (2023). The Role of Social Media in Shaping Public Opinion and Its Influence on Economic Decisions. Technology and Society Perspectives (TACIT), 1(1), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.61100/tacit.v1i1.37
Azhar, K. A., Wel, C. A. C., & Ab Hamid, S. N. (2025). “They Post, I Scroll, I Envy, I Buy”—How Social Media Influencers Shape Materialistic Values and Consumer Behavior Among Young Adults in Malaysia. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 20(3), 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer20030172
Babacan, M. (2025). The Impact of Religious Socialization on the Crisis of Faith: The Case of Young Turks in Türkiye. Religions, 16(10), 1297. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16101297
Baharun, H., Hakim, L., Fanani, A. A., Hasanah, R., Rozi, F., & Sa'diyah, H. (2025). Enhancing Educational Quality in Pesantren through Educational Fintech: Katalis Barokah for Building Public Trust. International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Social Science 2025 (ICAST-SS 2025), 586–594. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-938-4_66
Bahtera, D., & Ngarawula, B. (2023). Social Dynamics Towards an Advanced and Prosperous Acehnese Society: Study of the Dynamics of Social Reality in the People of West Aceh after the Implementation of Law No. 18 of 2001 Concerning Special Autonomy for the Province of the Special Region of Aceh. International Journal of Research in Social Science and Humanities (IJRSS), 4(5), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.47505/IJRSS
Chavoshi, S., & Miller, R. T. (2026). Between Languages and Worlds: Identity Shift and Language Socialization among International Students in US Higher Education. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2026.2638848
de Almeida, J. O., Lugosi, P., & Quinton, S. (2025). Child Viewers' Engagement with Social Media Influencers: Exercising Socialisation-Driven Agency. Journal of Business Research, 200, 115590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115590
Dewi, A. T. A., Hikmah, U., Kusumawati, I., Rahman, M., & Manshur, U. (2026). Madrasah Vision Management Strategy in Realizing Superior Educational Quality. EDUCARE: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan, 5(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.71392/ejip.v5i1.122
Ekwunife, R. A., Emebo, J. A. C., Agha, O. G., Onyeneho, B. U., Ukeje, I. O., Nwachukwu, H. I., & Uchechi, M. A. (2025). Transiting from Social Media Interaction to Character Formation. Nigerian Journal of Social Psychology, 8(1).
El-Ashry, A. M., AlOtaibi, N. G., AlSaleh, N. S., Karim, N. A. H. A., Amin, S. M., Mohamed, H. A. A., Tawfik, A. F., Ali, A. S., Ibrahim, M. N., & Ghoneam, M. A. (2026). Navigating Digital Harassment: A Cross-Country Study of Factors Affecting Cyberbullying among Nursing Students in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 152091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2026.152091
Fatima, A., Akhter, M. S., Kanekar, A., Roy, S., Mitra, R., Imade, B., & Sharma, M. (2025). A Scoping Review of the Use and Determinants of Social Media among College Students. Healthcare, 13(17), 2234. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13172234
Gonzalez-Mohino, M., Rodriguez-Domenech, M. Á., Callejas-Albiñana, A. I., & Castillo-Canalejo, A. (2023). Empowering Critical Thinking: The Role of Digital Tools in Citizen Participation. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 12(2), 258–275. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2023.7.1385
Haroon, H., e Rana, G., & Naz, S. (2025). Digital Discourse and Self-Presentation: Identity Construction in English-Dominant Social Media Spaces. Journal of Asian Development Studies, 14(3), 1866–1881. https://doi.org/10.62345/jads.2025.14.3.147
Harracá, M., Castelló, I., & Gawer, A. (2023). How Digital Platforms Organize Immaturity: A Sociosymbolic Framework of Platform Power. Business Ethics Quarterly, 33(3), 440–472. https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2022.40
Hepp, A. (2025). Curators of Digital Futures: The Life Cycle of Pioneer Communities. New Media & Society, 27(9), 5390–5409. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241253766
Javed, M., & Zafar, M. (2025). Navigating Social Worlds: A Theoretical Exploration of Phenomenological Sociology and the Construction of Social Realities. European Review of Applied Sociology, 18(30), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.2478/eras-2025-0006
Kartono, D. T., Suyanto, B., Sugihartati, R., Yani, M. T., Sirry, M., Suryadinata, T. A., Prasetyo, B. J., & Andriani, L. (2025). Tolerance of High School Students in an Urban-Transition City: A Study in Batu City. Cogent Education, 12(1), 2445364. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2445364
Krajčovič, P., Jurišová, V., Murár, P., Ďurková, K., & Kollárová, D. (2025). Temporal Patterns and Behavioural Dynamics of Mobile Device Usage: Analyzing Smartphone Habits, Social Media Usage and News Consumption among Young Adults. Media Lit Acad Res, 8, 194–207. https://doi.org/10.34135/mlar-25-01-10
Kurt, I. (2024). Exploring the Journey of Sociovirtualization: Understanding the Process of Socialization in a Virtual Context. London Journal of Interdisciplinary Sciences, 2, 38–51. https://doi.org/10.31039/ljis.2024.2.225
Nieminen, J. H. (2025). How Does Assessment Shape Student Identities? An Integrative Review. Studies in Higher Education, 50(2), 287–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2334844
Oluwatoyin, F. (2024). Individual Identity and the Dynamics of Digital Social Interaction. International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology, 6(2), 58–66.
Plackett, R., Blyth, A., & Schartau, P. (2023). The Impact of Social Media Use Interventions on Mental Well-Being: Systematic Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e44922. https://doi.org/10.2196/44922
Pol, E., Castrechini-Trotta, A., Pellicer-Cardona, I., & Cañete-Massé, C. (2024). Communication, Socialization, and ICT: The Psychosocial Construction of Sustainability. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1277577. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1277577
Qu, Y., & Wang, J. (2025). The Impact of AI Guilt on Students' Use of ChatGPT for Academic Tasks: Examining Disciplinary Differences. Journal of Academic Ethics, 23(4), 2087–2110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-025-09643-x
Rahman, A., & Suryandari, M. (2026). Transformation of Mad'u Religious Behavior in the Era of Digital Disruption: A Da'wah Psychology Analysis Based on Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory. Journal of Education and Learning Sciences, 6(1), 155–165. https://doi.org/10.56404/jels.v6i1.262
Rofiq, A. (2025). Kiai as Socialization Agents: Shaping Santri Identity to Foster Tolerance in the Context of Diversity. Tafkir: Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Education, 6(4), 1183–1198. https://doi.org/10.31538/tijie.v6i4.2894
Rohman, M., Saputra, D., & Hayeemaming, M. (2026). Digital Moral Disruption in Islamic Religious Education: Challenges and Strategies in the AI Era at Blitar Regency High Schools. Edukasi Islami: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 15(2), 683–700.
Safadi, H. (2024). Balancing Affordances and Constraints: Designing Enterprise Social Media for Organizational Knowledge Work. MIS Quarterly, 48(1), 347–374. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2023/16499
Titus, S., & Ng'ambi, D. (2023). Digital Gaming for Cross-Cultural Learning: Development of a Social Constructivist Game-Based Learning Model at a South African University. International Journal of Game-Based Learning (IJGBL), 13(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGBL.331995
Videla, C. B., Mellado-Moreno, P. C., Ulloa, M. P., & Ilardia, I. P. (2025). Democratic Education Improves Civic Participation and Critical Thinking among University Students. Preprints.org, 8(12), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202507.1185.v1
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Binti Maunah, Muhammad Afnan Habibi, Etty Zakiya Pratiwi, Azkia Brillian Kurniawan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
