Social media politics is youth politics

The political landscape in 2024 has taken an unexpected turn, surprising many with its novel approach. Campaigns now feature dance routines, face-changing animations, DJ koplo tracks, and community discussions streamed live on YouTube.

Additionally, candidates engage with their supporters through live Q&A sessions on TikTok. This fresh, dynamic style of political campaigning has emerged in a truly astonishing way this year.

Indonesia has just concluded its presidential election in February 2024, with Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming emerging victorious. Their diverse and creative campaign strategies are certainly worth exploring.

As the political festivities are far from over, with simultaneous regional elections across the country later this year, the focus now shifts to understanding the successful strategies of youth-driven political campaigns.

The Evolution of Various Political Campaign Styles

There was a time when the majority of political voters were adults from lower-income backgrounds, making poverty and prosperity the central narratives of campaigns. As a result, strategies like distributing cash, such as direct cash assistance (BLT) or engaging in “serangan fajar” (dawn attacks), became widespread.

“Serangan fajar” refers to the practice of vote-buying, where one or more individuals offer money to secure votes for a particular candidate, typically occurring just before election day—either a day or two before, or even on the morning of the voting day itself.

This era was followed by the rise of identity-based political polarization, where religious themes dominated the campaign landscape. Political strategies in this period involved aligning with mass organizations (ormas) and influential figures considered representative of religious groups.

For instance, during the gubernatorial election between Anies Baswedan and Ahok, Anies garnered support from the FPI (Islamic Defenders Front). Similarly, in the second presidential contest between Jokowi and Prabowo, Jokowi chose KH Ma’ruf Amin, a senior figure from the major organization Nahdlatul Ulama, as his running mate.

We have now entered a new era, the era of gimmicks, where social media dominates the landscape. In this period, a variety of gimmicks have been employed by a lot of the contestants participating in the election.

In the era of gimmicks, political campaigns have shifted toward creating viral moments and engaging with voters through social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Politicians often participate in lighthearted activities, from dancing to taking part in challenges, aiming to build a relatable and approachable persona. The focus has moved from deep policy discussions to entertainment-driven content that resonates with younger voters, prioritizing online visibility and social engagement over traditional campaign methods.

So, what does the future hold? As the upcoming regional elections approach, will they still be dominated by the era of gimmicks, or have we already transitioned into a new phase? While the next era may still retain some elements of the gimmick-driven approach, a gradual shift is already underway. The following points will explore this evolving landscape and the subtle changes taking place.

From Party Identification to ‘Figure Identification’

In the 1960s, Campbell and his colleagues conducted a study that was later published as The American Voter. This work analyzed voter behavior based on national surveys conducted in the United States between 1948 and 1958.

The American Voter emphasized a theoretical explanation of voters’ sociopsychological characteristics, and one of the enduring theories from this study is the concept of party identification.

However, today’s young voters are no longer drawn to political parties but rather to individual figures. According to data from The Indonesian Institute: Center for Public Policy and Research in 2018, only 11.7 percent of Indonesians felt a close connection to the political party they supported.

The situation worsened by 2021, with data from Rumah Pemilu revealing a decline to just 6.8 percent, based on a survey of 1,200 respondents across all provinces in Indonesia.