Democracy

Democracy in Our Feed: Shaping the Digital Literacy for Indonesian Youth

Indonesia being one of the most connected democracies in the world, with about 229 million Indonesians, or 80.66% of the population online, is often thrown into the vortex of political discourse in the digital sphere. Political campaign, social movement, protests, and activism all travels through social media. Which actually raises the question on the notion of ‘democracy’ itself: who is really setting the agenda on those platforms?

The ‘Free Real Estate’ of Algorithm: Polarisation, Platforms, and Digital Activism

Social media first existed as the promised open space where anyone could speak and be heard. But today, the reality looks different. Feeds of content presented on your screen are governed by algorithms designed to maximise engagement and content that provokes strong emotion. The result is what we have right now, a polarised public sphere in the internet, where users are shown what they believe and not what challenges their thinking.

Indonesia had its own fair share during the 2024 presidential election, where TikTok became a dominant platform for the presidential race, with candidates competing through short, jolly, and engaging short videos. 33.6% of TikTok users who were exposed to and participated in political discourses during that time were born between 1980 and 1996. This generation also makes up a large share of the voter group, about 33,6%: are of the millennial generation. Oftentimes the political content was intended to be likeable and boost virality over certain candidates, and not to inform the public about the candidates’ campaign.

Social media is also not a neutral space. Every actor who enters it, whichever background whether a political figure, a party, government agency, civil society groups, or even anonymous account, will carry their own agenda and have the objective to shape the flowing discourse. The algorithm often being the deciding factor of whose voice gets to be amplified.

On the other side, a new wave of digital activism managed to get the attention of Indonesian youth. A study by Generation Zeitgeist 2026 shown that youth social media content preferences has shifted from entertainment to content that offers expertise, education, and critical issues. Alongside this shift, youth political movements in Indonesia have grown more hybrid, combining online activism with street protests.

The protests over the revised military law in Indonesia, and the use of the One Piece pirate flag during the August 2025 protests over wages and welfare, have shown how digital activism has turned popular cultural symbol into a language of criticism. The symbol was easy to share without further explanation and instantly recogniable among young people, even in remote villages. This phenomenon would then was replicated by the youth movement in Nepal during demonstrations in their country few weeks later, also in Philippines during an anti-corruption rally. It demonstrated how popular culture, admired by the younger generation, can be used for  a powerful expression of democratic values that extends into the digital sphere. For those who could not join the rallies in person, many uploaded or changed their social media profile pictures to the symbol as a sign of united support for the movement.

The wave of digital activism also showed how social media has become a collaborative space that crosses national borders, attracting solidarity and support from the neighboring countries. This demonstrates that the digital public square is both an opportunity and a risk: its vast space can empower citizens, but the same space can also be exploited.

Shaping the Digital Literacy of Youth

Social media now has become one of the main sources for youth in accessing news and trending issues, including also state actors’ speech and policies. There were cases when this critical information was obscured by other noises that might distract from the main substance of information. This is where the danger of disinformation and misinformation lies. If those statements were not accompanied by fact-checking and verificator agencies, the information that the public absorbs could create a confusion and empty debate between the netizens.

Oftentimes, critics toward the government are facing a whole different problem. The outcry would usually be responded to by masked cyber operations run by buzzers whose objective is to blur between fact and opinion. That response could trigger a bigger risk, which is creating a generation whose trust toward media would decrease, eventually leading to a disengagement which means a quiet form of democratic erosion.

The question therefore shifts from what is true to what kind of digital literacy we need to shape. Literacy cannot mean only the ability to spot fake content. It should include understanding how algorithms shape what we see, recognising coordinated campaigns, asking who benefits from a narrative, and choosing to verify before sharing. It should also mean the confidence to disagree without dehumanising others.

Building this kind of literacy could not be done on the screen alone. It should be built in direct conversation, meeting peers alike, and acting together. This was the objective of the DigiWeek 2026: Vibing Policy the Gen Z Way and the Youth Summit on Digital Democracy, respectively organized by FNF Indonesia’s partners, Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) and Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet).

Both events drew inspiration and insight from a simple question: what kind of community and society would we like to create in the digital sphere? The result of the lively discussion showed that an active, collective movement led by young people remains a vital point in building the hope for the digital democracy. Activism should not stop when you share the voice for democracy through your account. Online outrage fades with the next trending topic, but trust, solidarity, and shared purpose are built face to face. They are what makes a community resilient in the times of rising technology.

*Khansadhia Afifah Wardana is a Program Officer at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom office in Jakarta, Indonesia.