Journal of Family Law and Islamic Court
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): Journal of Family Law and Islamic Court

From Viral to Ijab Kabul: The Role of Social Media in Driving Child Marriage

Sri Nanang Meiske Kamba (State University of Gorontalo)



Article Info

Publish Date
20 Jul 2026

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of child marriage in the context of digital transformation, focusing on the role of social media as a new factor influencing the practice of marriage dispensation in Indonesia. In contrast to the classic approach that focuses on economic, cultural, and educational factors, this study highlights how social media algorithms and virality phenomena shape the social pressures that drive child marriage decisions. This study uses normative legal methods with a critical approach, supported by a limited conceptual and socio-legal approach to analyze the interaction between legal norms and digital reality. The results of the study show that the emergence of digital moral panic and the dominance of digital public opinion has shifted the basis of the legitimacy of child marriage from legal considerations to algorithm-based social pressure. In addition, the digital public is transforming into informal legal actors that influence family decisions and judicial practices. This condition causes distortions of the principles of child protection and maqasid al-shari'ah. Therefore, a reformulation of a legal approach that is adaptive to technological developments is needed.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

jflic

Publisher

Subject

Religion Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Journal of Family Law and Islamic Court (ISSN: 2962-5963 (Print) 2962-5327 (Online)) is an national peer-reviewed open access journal that aims to spread conceptual thinking or ideas, review and the research findings obtained in Family Law and Islamic Courts. Journal of Family Law and Islamic Court ...