Citation

Nugroho, Catur and Balakrishnan, Kavitha and Wulandari, Astri and Nastain, Muhamad and Malau, Ruth Mei Ulina and Bintara, Chandra Satya (2026) Mediating Extremism and Tolerance: Social-Mediated Communication, Digital Activism, and Symbolic Power Among Indonesian University Students. Social Sciences, 15 (7). p. 459. ISSN 2076-0760

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Abstract

This study examines how Indonesian university students negotiate the meanings of extremism and tolerance across digital and campus environments. Using phenomenology, the research examines the lived experiences of 35 students from Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, and Bandung to understand how digital platforms, everyday interactions, and symbolic practices mediate their religious identity work. The analysis applies Castells’ concept of communication power and Bourdieu’s notions of habitus and symbolic power to explore how digital platforms shape ideological narratives and emotional framing. Key Findings reveal that extremism is experienced not merely as ideological deviation but as a communicative rupture—manifested through coercive discourse, exclusionary framing, and digitally amplified moral authority—while tolerance emerges as a socially cultivated practice embedded in relational norms, affective positioning, and strategic self-presentation in mediated environments. Social media functions simultaneously as a site of exposure, contestation, and subtle resistance, enabling students to reframe, soften, or oppose dominant narratives through micro-activism and selective curation. This study offers a novel contribution by integrating data-driven phenomenological insights with a theory-driven account of mediated power, demonstrating how symbolic power circulates through digital infrastructures and shapes the cultural politics of religious pluralism among youth in contemporary Indonesia.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Digital activism, mediation, social-mediated communication
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA71-90 Instruments and machines > QA75.5-76.95 Electronic computers. Computer science
Divisions:	Faculty of Applied Communication (FAC)
Depositing User:	Ms Rosnani Abd Wahab
Date Deposited:	04 Sep 2026 06:19
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2026 06:19
URII:	http://shdl.mmu.edu.my/id/eprint/16720

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