Influence of Social Media on Public Awareness Campaigns in Pakistan: Evidence from Punjab (2017–2025)

The social media has fundamentally altered the public awareness campaigns in Pakistan especially in Punjab, which allows the dissemination of information quickly, interactive communication, and participatory communication. Throughout the years 2017-2025, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and Tik Tok have been popular among government institutions, NGOs, and civil society actors who have been promoting health, environment, civic responsibilities and social issues awareness. This paper examines how social media can be used to carry out public awareness campaigns in Punjab with special attention given to such aspects as participation, validity of content, and demographic differences. The results obtained through a quantitative survey of 400 participants and statistical analysis, which incorporates descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression, demonstrate that social media activity and trustworthy information are effective in increasing the results of awareness. The most responsive population is represented by young, educated, and urban populations, and the rural and older groups have access and literacy in digital spaces as a challenge. The research highlights that although social media is an effective tool to create awareness, its success relies on credible information, interactive approach, and inclusion measures to address digital disproportions. The findings are practical to policymakers, campaign designers and other civil society players in order to maximize the use of the social media in awareness campaigns.