Sholawat as a Spiritual Counseling Medium for Adolescent Mental Health Based on Trends and Patterns of Use on Digital Platforms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53915/jbki.v6i2.175Keywords:
digital sholawat, adolescent mental health, self-compassion, emotional regulation, digital spiritualityAbstract
The rapid expansion of digital media has transformed religious practices among adolescents, enabling spiritual engagement through online platforms. This study investigates the role of digital sholawat engagement in supporting adolescent mental health through psychospiritual mechanisms. A quantitative netnographic design was employed to analyze 1,765 publicly accessible sholawat contents distributed across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, and X between January 2020 and December 2025. A total of 8,675 adolescent-generated interactions were examined to identify patterns of engagement and psychological responses. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4 was applied to evaluate the relationships among Digital Sholawat Engagement (DSE), Self-Compassion (SC), Emotional Regulation (ER), and Mental Health (MH). The findings revealed a substantial increase in digital sholawat consumption and interaction over the observation period. Thematic analysis showed that emotional calmness, stress reduction, and spiritual connectedness were the most dominant outcomes reported by adolescents. The structural model demonstrated significant positive relationships between DSE and SC (β = 0.345, p < 0.001), DSE and ER (β = 0.412, p < 0.001), SC and ER (β = 0.287, p < 0.001), SC and MH (β = 0.389, p < 0.001), and ER and MH (β = 0.361, p < 0.001). The model explained 45.8% of the variance in adolescent mental health. These findings indicate that digital sholawat functions as a culturally relevant psychospiritual resource that promotes self-compassion, strengthens emotional regulation, and contributes positively to adolescent mental health. The study offers empirical evidence for integrating digital spirituality into preventive mental health interventions and adolescent counseling practices.
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