From Clicks to Votes: Digital Mobilization Of Gen-Z In Indonesia`S Democracy

Abstract

This study examines how digital media has reshaped political campaigning and youth participation in Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election, with particular attention to the political mobilization of Generation Z voters. As the first election in which Gen-Z constituted a significant proportion of the electorate, the 2024 contest provides a critical moment to assess how affective digital strategies influence democratic engagement. The study employs a qualitative content analysis of social media campaign content to investigate how political actors mobilized online attention, emotions, and participation. The primary dataset consists of 72 Instagram posts—12 selected posts from each of the six presidential and vice-presidential candidates—systematically coded and analyzed using NVivo to identify dominant themes, messaging patterns, and strategic variations across campaigns. Digital media monitoring data from Indonesia Indicator, covering the period from October 2023 to 14 February 2024, are used as contextual evidence to situate content-level findings within Indonesia’s broader digital campaign landscape. The findings reveal clear divergences in digital mobilization strategies. The Prabowo–Gibran campaign relied heavily on emotional, entertaining, and personalized content, successfully generating affective connections and higher levels of online engagement among Gen-Z voters. In contrast, other candidates predominantly employed conventional issue-based and programmatic messaging, which tended to produce more limited interactive participation. The study argues that Indonesia’s 2024 election reflects the consolidation of affective digital politics, where algorithmic visibility, emotional resonance, and participatory digital culture increasingly shape electoral competition.