The study aims to explore the influence of social media on adventure tourism decision-making (ATDM), with adventure motivation (AM) and destination image (DI) as mediators, in India. This study is also valuable to the field of tourism consumer behaviour because it combines the “Uses and gratifications” theory with the “Stimulus-Organism-Response” model to explain how various gratifications motivate, and how cognition stemming from social media usage influences adventure travel decisions. This study employs quantitative analysis through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The analysis is based on a survey of 300 adventure tourists who actively engage with digital platforms in the adventure tourism sector in India. Social media influence not only has a significant direct effect on the adventure tourism decision-making process but also positively affects the adventure motivation and the destination image. The partial mediation of the relationship between SMI and ATDM is supported by both constructs, and the indirect effect through adventure motivation is slightly larger than the indirect effect through destination image (BC 95% CI H6: [0.140, 0.283]; H7: [0.113, 0.241]). The model accounts for 67.4% of the variance in ATDM, and SRMR = 0.062 shows a satisfactory model fit. Destination marketing organisations need to focus on inspiring and emotive content for Instagram reels, follow up with information, and plan for YouTube shorts. Instead of focusing on a specific sale, an influencer partnership should centre around storytelling, leveraging the platform's engagement and destination appeal. This study provides a theoretically explained system of UGT and SOR integration in the context of adventure tourism consumer behavior. It delivers empirical data for the Indian adventure tourism industry and illustrates how social media involvement influences adventure tourism decision-making through motivation and destination image..