Our world has changed because of social media. There are more than 2 billion social media users worldwide. This number is growing by 25% each year. The world is now getting more connected. The power of social media has been enormous. Some 70% of young people worldwide believes that social media can be a force of change. Indonesia is no exception in this regard.
As one of the most active social media users’ countries in the world, Indonesia is the fourth biggest users of Facebook and the fifth biggest users of Twitter. Jakarta specifically is the number one Twitter city in the world. Online business is booming. Young people are taking a lead in online businesses.
The euphoria of social media is happening across the country. The power of social media has also impacted the Indonesian political life. What is the role of social media in shaping our politics?
The Power of Social Media
We have heard the powerful use of social media in bringing the wind of change in Middle East through the movement of Arab Spring. In Indonesia, the social media has also been influential in succeeding Pak Jokowi’s bid to become the new Jakarta’s Governor in 2012. Pak Jokowi’s next move to run in the Presidential Election in 2014 was another case of how powerful social media as an effective tool to garner public support.
To a significant extent, the success of President Jokowi in winning the Presidential Election happened owing to the overwhelming support of social media users particularly the young people. Since then, the role of social media in Indonesia’s political life has become more prominent.
The Posture of Social Media
According to one source, in Indonesia there is 88.1 million of internet users; 79 million of social media users, 62 million of which are mobile users; and 318.5 million mobile connections. Around 67 million are mobile social users; laptops and desktops account for 45%; and tablets users shares only 4%. The young people are the most active internet users in Indonesia. Around half of the Indonesia’s population is under the age of 28.
The most popular social networks in Indonesia are Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. While in chat apps, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, and Line are competing hard to lead the market share. However, Indonesia is still battling with the problem of digital divide. In big cities and urban areas, internet infrastructure is good but many remote parts of Indonesia are having difficulties in accessing the internet.
Social Media in Politics
Nowadays, many more Indonesian politicians are fully aware of social media. They are cultivating on the social media as a means of communication with the public. In addition to President Jokowi, it is good to note that Governor of Jakarta Pak Ahok, Mayor of Bandung Pak Ridwan Kamil, Governor of Central Java Pak Ganjar Pranowo and Mayor of Surabaya Ibu Risma are active social media users.
In the case of reforming the bureaucracy in Jakarta, Pak Jokowi and his successor Pak Ahok have introduced a new approach in relaying the Jakarta’s Government activities including internal meeting through Youtube channel. Public can easily monitor the process inside the Jakarta Government’s office. Most highlight of these is when public see what Pak Jokowi has done with his “blusukan” agenda and how Pak Ahok gets upset when he finds wrongdoing in the execution of certain projects. Owing to this transparency policy, public are more aware about the Jakarta’s Government’s budget, salary of the Governor, and the ongoing bureaucratic reformation process.
Despite some cons on this new approach, but there are fundamental lessons that are positive in advancing democratic process in Indonesia. The public is learning to be more participative in the political process. Their voice will be heard. There is no more barrier in dealing with their leaders. Their leaders are accessible. This is a good culture to deliver the value of public accountability.
The role of social media also goes beyond the politics during the election. In daily life public can become a fierce watch-dog toward high profile issues such as corruption, lack of public service, parliamentary performance and bureaucracy mismanagement.
In such a connection, the social media has played an important role in influencing public opinion and provides alternative channel of information. The emergence of social media has greatly influenced the process of democracy in Indonesia.
However, in the previous general election in Indonesia there is a lesson learned. There were cases where the supporters of certain party applying black campaign in attacking their rivals. This should not happen again in the future.
Conclusion
Social media has become a powerful factor in shaping the political process in Indonesia. It serves to strengthen the check and balances mechanism of the executive, legislative and judicative power. It also has an important role in educating the public’s political awareness and participation.
Given the current activism of social media in Indonesia, we should be more optimistic for our future democracy. The social media will continue to enrich the working of democracy and serve as an important backbone of the democratization process.
Jakarta 31 March 2016
AGUNG CAHAYA SUMIRAT 