Reclaiming Inner Balance: Islamic Spiritual Coping and Mental Health among Generation Z in the Digital Era

Abstract

Digital mental health has become one of the most urgent concerns for Generation Z in today’s society. Although studies on online stress and digital well-being continue to expand, few have explored how Islamic spiritual psychology can address the moral disorientation and identity confusion that young people experience in a highly connected digital world. The World Health Organization (2023) reports that one in seven adolescents worldwide faces mental-health challenges. In Indonesia, data from the Ministry of Health (2023) show that emotional and behavioral disorders rose from six percent in 2013 to nearly ten percent in 2023, affecting about twenty million people. A national survey by Jakpat (2024) found that six of ten Indonesian Gen Z youth often experience mood changes and that more than half struggle with sleep problems caused by digital pressure. These realities reflect what Émile Durkheim described as anomie, a state of moral disconnection and loss of meaning that increasingly characterizes the digital culture. This study constructs an integrative framework linking Durkheim’s sociological theory of anomie with the Islamic psychological concept of tazkiyat al-nafs or spiritual purification. Using conceptual library research and theoretical synthesis, it identifies three interrelated dimensions: moral awareness, emotional regulation, and spiritual resilience. The framework offers practical insights for educators, counselors, and Islamic learning institutions to strengthen digital ethics, spiritual intelligence, and emotional stability among youth, providing a faith-based perspective on contemporary mental-health challenges. This conceptual synthesis contributes to the development of an Islamic psychological framework that bridges moral theory and contemporary digital well-being studies