Social Media and National Disintegration

Abstract

Indonesia is a multicultural country with various different aspects. In the era of the internet, the government's duty to maintain the harmony of the nation faced a big challenge. This article examines the use of social media in the political context in Indonesia. Researchers use qualitative methods to answer research problems. The theoretical approach used is the political-economic theory of new media which has a critical meaning, focusing on ownership and control of media and other factors that unite the media industry with political, economic and elite society. Political conflict and polarizations based on political choice have actually started in the 2014 presidential election and show an escalation in toward the 2019 election. The results show that the fragmentation in social media also has a correlation with real-world conflict. Freedom of speech from netizens who have low digital literacy met with practical political interests make social media look like a battlefield of opinion. Hoaxes and fake accounts is a strong mark of the low netizen's responsibility. On the other hand, the government also doesn't have good regulation to create a constructive sphere of social media. The threat of disintegration is increasing, as social media also owned by the ruling digital capitalist who owned all data used by netizens. Leakage and misuse of data that undermines the sovereignty of a country. The research result is used as input to the Indonesian government for regulatory making, as part of the strengthening of civil society and encourage international agreement on Internet-based information security.

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Author Information
Subhan Afifi, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Muhammad Edy Susilo, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Senja Yustitia, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" Yogyakarta, Indonesia

• Category: MediAsia2018

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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