The Role of Social Media in Enhancing Awareness of Sustainable Development Goals Among Arab Youth

Social media has become a central arena for informal learning and civic participation, yet its capacity to convert exposure into meaningful sustainability engagement remains uncertain. This study examines the role of social media in enhancing awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among Arab youth and explores how digital platforms function as spaces for informal learning. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was administered to 370 respondents aged 17–45 across several Arab countries (primarily the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, and Algeria—countries selected because they are among the region’s most digitally connected societies and jointly represent the Gulf, Levantine, and North African sub-regions), measuring social media usage patterns, levels of SDG awareness, and forms of digital engagement; the data were analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Pearson correlations, t-tests, and one-way ANOVA) that tested four hypotheses derived from an integrated research model. The findings show that visually oriented platforms, particularly Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, dominate youth media consumption, and that social media is the leading source of SDG-related information for the majority of respondents. However, engagement remains largely passive, confined to viewing, liking, and resharing content, revealing a persistent gap between awareness and active participation. The hypothesis tests confirm this pattern: SDG awareness is strongly associated with digital engagement (r = 0.71, p < 0.001), whereas breadth of platform use plays only a marginal role (r = 0.11, p = 0.044) and membership in sustainability-focused online groups confers no significant awareness advantage. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory and Knowledge Management Theory, the study introduces the Digital Awareness–Engagement Conversion Model (DAECM), which conceptualizes the staged transition from digital exposure to engagement and advocacy. The results underline the need for interactive, localised, and youth-centred digital strategies that can translate passive awareness into sustained sustainability action. Given the non-probability sampling design, the findings are interpreted as exploratory.