Journal of Social and Humanities
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): January-June

The Impact of Technology on the Social and Spiritual Lives of the Youth

Mandla Khumalo (Queens College of Theology, USA
Life Changing Bible and Ministry University, South Africa)

Nonhlanhla Precious Dunn (Ministry of Education, Eswatini)



Article Info

Publish Date
06 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study explored the impact of technology on the social and spiritual lives of the youth. Technology is advancing the daily activities for the youth and with such advancements comes certain impacts. Therefore this study tried to ascertain the benefits and negative effects of technology on the youth using an exploratory framework from an interpretive perspective. Semi-structured interviews were used as the primary source of data. Data was collected from participants who included both adults and young people. The youth were between the ages of 14 and 24. The adult participants were between the ages of 36 – 52 in range. The results revealed that technology has enhanced the social and spiritual lives of the youth through access to virtual sermons, access to spiritual music and has also broadened interaction channels without time and location barriers. On the negative side, the results show that the youth are becoming lazy and mostly relying on the internet for information and thus affecting their critical thinking ability. While technology can enhance the youth‟s learning capabilities through tailored approaches, excessive usage like prolonged screen time and prolonged social media engagements have a negative impact particularly on communication and academic performance.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

JSH

Publisher

Subject

Religion Arts Humanities Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Economics, Econometrics & Finance Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Journal of Social and Humanities (JSH) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal that aims to provide a platform for researchers, academicians, professionals, practitioners, and students to publish their research findings, ideas, and insights in a wide range of topics in social ...