Cultural Identity Negotiation and Political Behaviour in the Digital Public Sphere in Contemporary Indonesia

This study aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the processes through which cultural identity is negotiated and political behavior is constructed within Indonesia’s digital public sphere amid an increasingly digitalized, polarized, and discursively fragmented society. Employing a qualitative approach with an interpretative phenomenological design, the research explores subjective experiences, social meanings, and reflective strategies used by individuals and communities in interpreting identity and political participation through social media. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, online participatory observation, and digital document analysis involving 12 participants selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Surakarta. Data analysis was conducted systematically using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman, encompassing data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification through open, axial, and thematic coding stages. The findings identify three major themes: (1) cultural identity as symbolic capital in digital political communication, (2) the politicization of identity leading to the fragmentation of public discursive spaces, and (3) digital citizenship as a practice of individual and collective identity negotiation. The results demonstrate that digital spaces function as symbolic arenas where meanings, legitimacy, and power relations are dynamically contested. Cultural identity operates not only as a mode of self-expression but also as an instrument for articulating interests and political legitimacy.