International Youth Engagement in Social Change through Digital Media: A Systematic Qualitative Review from Management and Cultural Exchange Perspectives
Keywords:
International youth, cultural exchange, management perspectivesAbstract
Abstract. This study explores international youth engagement in social change through digital media by adopting a management and cultural exchange perspective. The growing reliance of young people on digital platforms for civic, social, and organizational activities has reshaped how social change initiatives are formed, coordinated, and sustained, particularly in transnational contexts. Despite the expanding body of literature on digital youth participation, existing research remains fragmented and often overlooks the managerial and intercultural dimensions of such engagement. To address this gap, this study aims to systematically synthesize qualitative evidence on how international youth utilize digital media to engage in social change and how managerial practices and cultural exchange processes shape these initiatives. A systematic qualitative review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, drawing on peer-reviewed studies indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. The identification process yielded 218 records, which were screened and refined to 60 eligible studies for in depth qualitative synthesis. The findings reveal that digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), and YouTube function as enabling infrastructures for youth engagement, facilitating community building, advocacy, and collective mobilization across cultural boundaries. The results further indicate that youth-led digital initiatives are characterized by distributed leadership, informal coordination, and adaptive management practices, while cultural exchange plays a central role in shaping interaction, identity negotiation, and collaboration. These findings contribute to existing knowledge by integrating youth empowerment, digital social movement, and cross cultural management perspectives, offering a holistic understanding of digitally mediated youth engagement. The study concludes that international youth engagement in social change through digital media is a dynamic process that simultaneously generates opportunities for social impact, managerial learning, and intercultural exchange, while also presenting challenges related to sustainability and coordination.
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