An investigation of the social media behavior of Imam Hatip High School students

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between social media usega and behavior among 9th-, 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-grade girls imam hatip high school students. The purpose of social media usage among female students in imam hatip high school, how they use social media, and its impact on their religious and social lives will be determined. The limited number of media and religious identity studies on imam hatip youth has enabled this study. Thus, this study focuses on the concepts of religious education, youth, Imam Hatip youth, and social media, and aims to contribute to more comprehensive studies on young people in this field. The study group consisted of 25 female students from 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades at Emine Ahmet Yeni Girls Anatolian Imam Hatip High School and İlkadım Girls Anatolian Imam Hatip High School in the İlkadım district of Samsun province. A semi-structured interview technique was used in the study, within the framework of a phenomenological design, a qualitative research method. Themes and codes were created as a result of the analysis of the data obtained from the interviews. According to the research results it was revealed that the students use Instagram the most, spending an average of 3-4 hours on it for entertainment. It was revealed that students postponed their religious practices, particularly prayers, and academically, they postponed studying due to social media usage. Students stated that they frequently encountered and were influenced by content on social media that was incompatible with their beliefs and values. Almost all students stated that social media had a negative impact on their ability to question their religious beliefs. Participants find LGBT and unmarried life propaganda the most disturbing in terms of religious sensitivity. It was found that participants who actively use social media oppose lifestyles prohibited by Islam, commenting on posts that contradict them and choosing to block those pages. The study concluded that while participants actively use social media, they also react to content that is unacceptable to Islam, such as commenting on and blocking it.