Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{191003,
        author = {Dr.T.Ramaprabha},
        title = {The Role of Social Media Networks and Digital Forensic Science in Identifying Contemporary Problems},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {4782-4788},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=191003},
        abstract = {The rapid expansion of social media networks has fundamentally reshaped contemporary communication, while simultaneously generating critical digital problems such as cybercrime, misinformation, online harassment, identity theft, and digital radicalization. The importance of this study lies in examining how digital forensic science has emerged as a vital investigative discipline for identifying, analyzing, and mitigating such problems within social media environments. The primary aim of the author is to analyses the role of digital forensic methodologies in transforming volatile and fragmented social media data into reliable and legally admissible digital evidence. The study draws upon established theoretical and practical frameworks in digital forensics and media studies, engaging with key scholarly works such as Eoghan Casey’s Digital Evidence and Computer Crime (2011), danah boyd’s It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens (2014), Christian Fuchs’s Social Media: A Critical Introduction (2017), Daniel J. Solove’s Understanding Privacy (2008), and Luciano Floridi’s the Ethics of Information (2013). By integrating technical, legal, and ethical perspectives, the article demonstrates how digital forensic science enhances accountability, supports justice, and safeguards public trust in digital environments. Ultimately, the study argues that social media forensics is indispensable for addressing contemporary digital threats and ensuring responsible governance in an increasingly networked social world.},
        keywords = {Social Media Networks, Digital Forensic Science, Cybercrime, Online Investigation, Digital Evidence.},
        month = {January},
        }