Social Media Advocacy for Sustainable Development Growth: Mechanisms, Impacts, and Future Directions

Abstract Social networking sites have become an effective avenue in promoting SDGs as a new avenue of engaging people in sustainability projects. This synthesis paper analyses the various aspects in which social media are said to augment sustainable development and explores it using empirical literature on various settings and fields. The analysis shows that social media allows an unprecedented reach and efficiency to spread the sustainability-related information, can be used to rally communities around environmental causes, and can offer new ways to co-create value between stakeholders. It is also interesting to note that the use of social media has played a significant role in empowering women entrepreneurs in developing countries where research has indicated that engaging in social media entrepreneurship is one of the main aspects that positively influences sustainable development through improvement of family incomes and the promotion of gender equality. Nevertheless, some major challenges remain, such as the digital divide between developed and developing countries, the widespread greenwashing practice, the inabilities to quantify the impact, and the volume of misinformation. The research agenda recommended in the article is based on using artificial intelligence to target messages, determining the actions of the cross-platform advocates, creating new impact assessment models, and handling ethical issues related to data usage. The review is relevant given the presence of recurrent publications on the topics of digital technologies and sustainability and acts as a contribution to this literature because it generalizes evidence, identifies what may significantly enhance social media potential to contribute to the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development.