REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Social media is still the main choice of people to determine their political views. However, there is a changing public interest in utilizing social media to respond to developments in current issues.

TikTok is now the most used social media platform compared to X (Twitter). A survey conducted by Political Indicators between December 23-24, 2023 showed that only 6.7 percent of potential voters use X (Twitter) as a reference and receptacle for political expression.

Meanwhile, TikTok, which was originally considered an alternative social media and pure entertainment, has now become the dominant social media platform and is embracing all walks of life.

“We can see boisterousness on X (Twitter) only targeting older or senior netizens who are more conventional and have social or political interests. They're engrossed in playing with X (Twitter) citizens who are impressed that-that's it. Unfortunately, many national media, homeless media, and prominent figures still cite X (Twitter) because it has publicly available measurement tools, monitoring, and analysis for free and affordable,” Adrian Zakhary, Strategy Director of the Center for Political Illumination (Puspenpol), said in a release received Wednesday (24/1/2024).

With such a large number of TikTok users, it can be considered that TikTok deserves to be used as a source of political reference in the homeland. In response to the great influence of TikTok, since the start of the political contest for the presidential election and the 2024 general election, Puspenpol has conducted studies and strengthened research through TikTok content and users.

X (Twitter) uses #hashtags volume or keywords as a basis, where the higher the volume supported by organic accounts, influencers (with many followers), and supporting accounts, the greater the chances of becoming a Trending Topic.

Trending Topics are real-time and have display limits within a certain period of time. Therefore, it takes a large volume with the support of simultaneously powerful accounts to be able to go “viral” on X (Twitter).

Puspenpol has had major concerns over the past two years, mainly related to the dynamics and uniqueness of politics on TikTok. Media monitoring and analysis on social media, especially TikTok, has become very important as internet penetration continues to increase.

According to the survey of the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) in 2023, the number of Internet users in Indonesia reached 215.62 million people. This means that the penetration of internet monitoring reached 78.19 percent, which means that 8 out of 10 Indonesians are Internet users.

“FYP on TikTok will be The News Game Changer of Indonesian Politics today. We can see from now on, politicians are racing to seize the hearts of TikTok citizens. On February 14, 2024, we can also prove for ourselves how Paslon or a candidate who can excel on TikTok can be the winner in the election, both in the presidential election and in the general election. Let history prove it,” Adrian said.

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