Moral Careers of Muslim College Students: How I Became a Better Muslim through TikTok

Abstract

This paper explores how civically engaged American Muslim college students, identified through their enrollment and participation in Muslim Student Associations (MSAs) on their college campuses, form and negotiate their identity through social media use. The research question guiding this study is: How do American Muslim college students use social media to construct and negotiate their religious identities? Fifteen Muslim college students, aged 19 to 21, from three Northeastern cities were interviewed to examine their relationship with social media in their daily lives. This study focuses on in-depth interviews, supplemented by field observations, informal conversations, and digital content analysis. Findings reveal that Muslim college students use social media to construct their religious identities, manage their online presence, and navigate community expectations. The study applies Becker’s and Goffman’s frameworks of moral career to understand how these students become social media users while becoming more pious Muslims. This research contributes to understanding the role of social media in religious identity construction, highlighting the complex interplay between personal beliefs, public self-presentation, and community expectations.