Social media campaigns in Indonesia: How social media has transformed Indonesia’s democratization process and political activity

Abstract

Social media has dramatically transformed world politics, but what social media is doing to democracy has not been thoroughly examined. We need to know Indonesia’s history of the reformation, restoration and economic progress to understand the social media significance in Indonesia’s democratization. Therefore, this article will discuss social media in Indonesian’s political context, focuses on two stages. First is when the technological development in Indonesia supports virtual communities, particularly during the 1998 movement. Second is when social media create a participatory culture or political participation in the 2008 elections onwards, which leads to polarization and division in recent elections across the globes.