BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, raising concern among the general population, and urging them to seek information. Raising awareness and providing essential medical information to broad audiences could be achieved through social media. METHODS We employed a cross-sectional survey design in Lebanon via phone calls. Participants were selected by simple random sampling, using a computer-based random number generator. The questionnaire was composed of 3 sections: Socio-demographics, awareness on COVID-19, and social media use assessment. Awareness was assessed using 30 questions forming the COVID-19 Public Awareness Score (COVID-PAS), and social media use was assessed using questions about participants’ daily usage duration and platforms used. RESULTS A total of 641 participants with a mean age of 49.03 ± 15.36 were included in the study. Their COVID-PAS mean was 21.9 ± 3.8, and 561 (87.5%) were social media users. WhatsApp® and Facebook® were the most used. Multiple linear regression showed that higher educational level (P < 0.001), higher income (P < 0.001), and social media use (P < 0.001) were associated with better scores, while older age (P = 0.001) was associated with lower scores. Radio use (P = 0.01) and information from religious leaders (P < 0.001) were associated with lower scores only in the bivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS In general, the Lebanese population had a good awareness of COVID-19. Social media users had a significantly higher awareness score than the non-users, but there remains a need to further explore the aspects of social media use that affect their awareness.