The Moderating Role of Islamic Religious Activities in Mitigating Depression Linked to Excessive Social Media Use
1 Department of Islamic Studies, Uttara University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2 Department of General Education, Northern University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3 School of Business, Galgotias University, Delhi, India.
Research Article
International Journal of Science and Technology Research Archive, 2025, 09(02), 026-035.
Article DOI: 10.53771/ijstra.2025.9.2.0064
Publication history:
Received on 15 November 2025; revised on 24 December 2025; accepted on 26 December 2025
Abstract:
This research explores the mediating role of Islamic religious practices in the association between problematic social media use and depression. Overuse of social networking websites have been found to be associated with increased depressive symptoms, emotional distress and lower levels of psychological well-being. Under the quantitative correlational design, data were obtained from a sample of 400 participants aged 18-45 that sought to measure: The frequency and nature of social media and depression at first instance Islamic practices namely Salah (prayer), Dhikr (remembrance of God) and Shukr (gratitude) in addition to perceived social support within an Islamic context. Standardized measures such as Social Media Use Questionnaires and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered and analyzed using descriptive statistics, a correlation analysis and moderation analyses. The results highlight a positive relationship between problematic social media usage and depression. But, this relationship is largely attenuated for frequent participants of Islamic religious activities. Salah, Dhikr and Shukr was linked to greater emotional resilience, coping self-efficacy and lower depressive symptom scores even among participants with moderate-high exposure to social media. Moreover, involvement in Islamic community social support further decreased depression. These findings imply that Islamic religious practices and community support can be potential protective factors against the harmful psychological consequences of excessive use of social media, with implications for culturally sensitive mental health interventions.
Keywords:
Social Media Addiction; Islamic Religious Practices; Depression Mitigation; Emotional Resilience; Coping Mechanisms
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Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0