National Awakening in the Era of Identity Politics and Social Media

Originally it was imaginary. When a number of people gathered to establish Boedi Oetomo, May 20, 1908, in the anatomy classroom of STOVIA Jakarta, there had been no concept of a nation state called Indonesia.

People went there because of the same aspiration, the desire to rise up to maintain the dignity of being free human beings. The universal determination that later evolved into a struggle to be free from colonialism. Indonesia has been formed by the concept of imaginary unity that ties 264 million people.

Borrowing the term of Professor Benedict Anderson in the book Imagined Community, the awareness of a nation called Indonesia is not because we come from the same race or religions. The will comes from something universal, an abstract bond: a sense of brotherhood among humans who do not know each other but have the same imagination that they are a part of a nation state called Indonesia.

One hundred and eleven years after the national awakening, the imagination of the sense of unity is challenged by political stagnation, increasing identity politics and social media algorithms.

Political disappointment

The world\'s political scientists have been anxious about the emergence of the "democratic deficit" phenomenon among young people, the phenomenon where democracy faces a crisis of fundamental legitimacy. Young people, despite believing in democracy, begin to be dissatisfied with the way democracy works. Two years ago, Roberto Stefan Foa and Yascha Mounk published their research The Danger of Deconsolidation: The Democratic Disconnect in the Journal of Democracy. It was revealed that young people had become increasingly cynical to political leaders and the democratic systems. They even did not object to the authoritarian system as an alternative. Support for the idea of free speech declines and support for political radicalism increases.

A similar phenomenon has begun to emerge in the country. Saiful Mujani in the Kaum Demokrat Kritis (Critical Democrats --KPG, 2019) concluded that the phenomenon of democratic deficit has also emerged in Indonesia, a combination of growing public expectations, a flow of information that presents negative news and a decline in the performance of political institutions. The rising expectations occur due to the increasing number of educated people, which gives birth to a critical generation that has greater hopes for democracy. Meanwhile, press freedom and the emergence of social media that often displays negative news and fake news encourages people to be more skeptical. Polls show that the House of Representatives and political parties are the two institutions that are the least trusted by the public.

The absence of new political power will make us not see a major change in the DPR in the next five years. This means that there will be more disappointments, which if not managed properly, they will further alienate young people from politics. In fact, in electoral terms, young people aged 17-35 years are the strength that can influence the direction of the future.

Disappointment toward politics has the vulnerability to cause the younger generation to look at identity politics. The results of exit polls show that religion is the basis for people to determine the president\'s choice in the 2019 election. This election leads to a society that is increasingly divided, especially by identity factors. The Indonesian Survey Institute\'s research, August 2018, showed 59 percent of Indonesians were unwilling to be led by a president who had different beliefs.

The Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN)

in Jakarta found alarming facts related to increasing identity politics, which leads to intolerant attitudes among generation Z. People aged 9-23 years old use the internet three-five hours per day on average, 34 percent agree that apostates must be killed, 33.34 percent feel that acts of intolerance toward minorities are not a problem. Approximately 50.89 percent say they got information from the internet.

Identity in modern society, according to Francis Fukuyama in Identity (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2018), is built on three phenomena: (1) thymos, the universal aspect of human personality filled with the intension of recognition, (2), by building differences between me and others, (3), by expanding the concept of identity, which was originally based on personal self-esteem, to become something universal, through a project of identity politics. The rapid flow of urbanization, according to Fukuyama, has encouraged widespread questions about identity. Young people who initially live in rural areas calmly with great social support suddenly face a situation of uncertainty when they decide to move to the city in search of work.

The anxiety to look for the root of identity comes along with interactions with people who come from various regions and speak different dialects, even different languages. The rapid flow of information makes them confused about who to trust. They feel alienated and difficult to socialize with the world around them. It happens when the question of "Who am I, and what am I like?" starts to emerge. In the search for answers they begin to explore the roots of their identity, whether they come from religion or ethnicity, to confirm who they are.

In line with the rapid flow urbanization, this phenomenon will continue to emerge. The government estimates that by 2035, the population living in the city will be 66.6 percent. The rapid flow of urbanization -- the highest in Asia -- and the anxiety of young people facing a new world in the city make identity politics strengthen along with the widespread use of social media.

Trapped in algorithms

It has been said that mates, encounters and separation are now not only determined by God but also by social media algorithms. When surfing the internet and reading Facebook News Feeds, accepting video recommendations on YouTube, or the opportunity to meet someone in a matchmaking application, is determined by an algorithm that guides us in making choices.

Mathematical calculations affect us in making decisions. We are not aware as to when the algorithm works. The information that we see in social media is the result of algorithm calculation that constantly learns what we like: supplying information according to the standards we like and our previous search history. This mathematical calculation finally guides us in determining what we read. It encourages us to only read the things we like, controls the flow of information we receive, forms ways of thinking and understanding events.

Social media is actually designed as an "advertiser engine", which works to manipulate human attention with the aim of making users see more things that are assumed by intelligence machines and algorithms and like them. The best way to manipulate attention is to attract people\'s emotions to be afraid or angry, in order to increase more engagement. Social Media floods the public with disinformation and erodes people\'s belief in the values of truth, which has been maintained in the tradition of journalism.

In social media, factual information and false information appear to be equally convincing, making us lose orientation on what is right. A situation that encourages the creation of a truth post where people believe that truth only comes from people who are trusted. Facts and truth are no longer important in the post-truth world. Algorithms do not put truth as absolute. Flat information or truth will not attract engagement. Extreme, sensational lies, or conspiracy theories spread faster.

Trump\'s victory is a clear example of widespread lies in social media that threaten democracy. Social media evolves into a media disseminating information. Communities are increasingly dependent on social media in receiving information and following the news. The Pew Research Center two years ago noted, two-thirds of Americans received the latest information from social media. Five years ago, Facebook defeated Google as a source of information.

Algorithms supply users with the information they want, making the news feed a unique world -- creating the illusion that everyone has the same view. This mathematical calculation of social media machines minimizes the possibility for us to meet ideas from outside that we like, narrows the possibility of dialogue between different opinions. Therefore, there appears an echo chamber phenomenon, where messages broadcast on social media only resonate among "faithful" people who will like each other, retweet, share, or comment on each other. Social media that should make people be connected to each other actually create a partition. Borrowing Bung Hatta\'s term, through the social media "Searching for unity, but getting self-promotion instead". Not dialogue, but the prominence of self-identity or group, which is similar to the phenomenon of the rise of the selfie photos.

However, despite all the problems, social media is a major contributor to the democratization of information. It is capable of breaking through sensors, making the cost of disseminating information far more efficient and inexpensive. It has become faster for not only hoaxes but factual and quality information to spread. Social media makes the world more connected, open. Voices, including those which have been marginalized so far, will have more opportunities to be heard. It gives us the power to determine what we read, enabling the diversity of extraordinary ideas to spread quickly and cheaply.

Solidarity as a rival idea

How do we strengthen unity amid the onslaught of identity politics? In identity politics, unity and brotherhood within a group is based on common ethnicity or religion. To deal with it, we need to look for or revive the formulation that can be the basis of common life as a nation, a universal formula that addresses group barriers. In this context, we need to solidarity as a national identity, solidarity that is based on the principle of humanity and built on the basis of a democratic state. Many people turn to identity politics because they feel abandoned by progress.

The best way to reach them is by empowering, providing subsidies to disadvantaged communities so they can go to school with the aim that they are empowered and have the opportunity to improve their lives. Solidarity can only be built on clean politics. Corruption will make people not believe in politics, not believe in parties and the House of Representatives, which in the long run will make young people more apathetic towards democracy and turn to identity politics. Solidarity can only be built on the foundation of mutual trust, a feeling that the people are not betrayed by corrupt elites, who do not care about their lives.

A number of efforts have been initiated to build solidarity by utilizing social media. The platform KitaBisa (WeCan), Change, JustCoz, Twibbon, Causes, and DonateYour Account are a number of innovations that have been developed to build social solidarity to reinforce the bonds that have been partitioned by identity politics and social media algorithms.

Andy Budiman, Spokesperson of Indonesian Solidarity Party