Scroll, share, protest: Political efficacy and mobilization among Indonesia’s youth

Ghaziah Nurika Akhni (), Reza Noormansyah (), Bonifasius Endo Gauh Perdana (), Lulu Tri Sabila () and Aqila Fahma Fadinina ()
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Ghaziah Nurika Akhni: Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University
Reza Noormansyah: Universitas Tidar
Bonifasius Endo Gauh Perdana: Universitas Tidar
Lulu Tri Sabila: Universitas Tidar
Aqila Fahma Fadinina: Universitas Tidar

Priviet Social Sciences Journal, 2026, vol. 6, issue 9, 252-267

Abstract: This paper examines how university students make meaning of their political participation aided by social media, focusing on the 2024 Peringatan Darurat campaign as an empirical case study. Based on in-depth interviews with students from Universitas Tidar, the study examines how political awareness evolved from online interactions to street protests. Social media platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, function not only as news sources but also spaces for expressing anger, building moral arguments, and negotiating collective action. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (Yaakub et al., 2023), the research examines how attitudes, peer expectations, and perceived capacity shape students’ decisions to act politically, as well as, increase their confidence of government capability to response to the campaign/protest. The findings suggest that participants are actively navigating political information in digital spaces to decide how to participate, often motivated by a sense of responsibility. As a context-specific case study, this project insists on a deeper understanding of youth political participation as reflective, relational, and, despite often being constrained, signaling the significance of social media in aiding the development of youth political efficacy.

Keywords: mobilization; political participation; social movement; social media; university students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.55942/pssj.v6i9.2197

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