As developing countries undergo profound social transformations, from gender inequality, environmental pollution to youth mental health, the need to find media that can promote social awareness and action is increasingly urgent. Music, especially genres that are close to young people, has emerged as a powerful cultural tool, but has not yet been fully studied from the perspective of its psychosocial impact. Clarifying the mechanisms of music's influence on empathy and social participation behavior not only fills the current research gap, but also brings high application value in education, communication and cultural policy towards the young generation. The objective of the study is to investigate the influence of social messages in youth music on social engagement of Vietnamese youth through social empathy variable. Based on the ELM and Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis, the study used a quantitative research method using a questionnaire with 312 young people in Vietnam, then using SmartPLS4 to analyze collected data. The study found a positive impact of message relevance and music exposure on social engagement through the mediating role of social empathy. Research suggests that socially-informed music can be an effective tool for promoting empathy and social action in young people, especially when integrated into education, community activism, and media campaigns. Combining music education, directed artistic creation, and cross-sector collaboration between artists, civil society organizations, and policymakers will help to maximize the potential of music in building a more empathetic and socially-involved generation of young people.
Van et al. (Wed,) studied this question.