Proceedings of Jogjakarta Communication Conference (JCC)
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): The 7th Jogjakarta Communication Conference (JCC)

The Humorous Aspect of Religious Messages Popular in Generation Z on Social Media: A Study of Religious Students in Samarinda

Afita Nur Hayati (Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris Samarinda)
Ramadiva Muhammad Akhyar (Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris Samarinda)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

As digital natives, Generation Z spends over six hours daily on social media. One type of content they access is Islamic content. However, the themes most commonly associated with this content remain a topic of ongoing debate. This study aims to examine Generation Z's preferences for Islamic content on social media within tertiary-level religious studies programs. A mixed-methods approach was employed, beginning with a quantitative survey followed by qualitative analysis, with data collected via a Google Form completed by 86 undergraduate students at a state Islamic religious university in Samarinda. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings indicate that (1) the most popular social media platforms are Instagram and WhatsApp, (2) Generation Z tends to be uniform in consuming Islamic messages, with 83.7% preferring Islamic content that includes humor, followed by inspirational themes, for various reasons. These results suggest that adding humorous elements to Islamic content can help make these messages more accessible, understandable, and relevant to Generation Z. This study recommends that Muslim influencers incorporate humor into their Islamic content, provided it does not overshadow the core message. This approach aims to capture Generation Z’s attention and foster full engagement with Islamic messages.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jcc

Publisher

Subject

Social Sciences

Description

Proceedings of Jogjakarta Communication Conference (JCC) is the media to publish conference scientific articles received from the annual conference JCC started on 2019. This proceeding also published annually with the scope of communication science related to various topics Related topic with ...