Reading “Mukidi”: Discourse Representation in Indonesia’s New Media Platform

Abstract

This paper is an Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA) analyses the viral messages of “Mukidi” in Indonesia’s new media platform. It focuses on how the viral messages of “Mukidi” in social media (i.e. WhatsApp) exist in relation to how people, in the WhatsApp, talk about the messages. The results of the research show that “Mukidi” was not just an ordinary message, but also able to represent discourse on social and cultural values through the new media of communication. The theme of viral messages represented by “Mukidi” became the representation of the dynamics of daily life. The implication of such findings is our understanding that discourse is not just present in the mainstream media. Instead it spontaneously offers alternative probabilities in using social media for future communication.