The Social Media Use for Presidential Candidates Campaign and Political Awareness of Young Voters in Indonesia

Abstract

© 2017 SERSC Australia. Social media accounts belonging to presidential candidates on the 2014 Indonesian Presidential Election are worthy of studying, particularly in terms of their users (the young voters); the question of which is whether they actively communicate via social media accounts owned by the presidential candidates and their supporters. In contrast, from the side of presidential candidates, what messages are communicated through their social media? This study was conducted with the survey method through questionnaire and content analysis on the accounts owned by presidential candidates of the Republic of Indonesia, and their interaction in the 2014 Presidential Election. The study results indicate that the respondents of young voters already have awareness on public issues related to the presidential candidates. This is reflected in the interest of respondents in noticing the social media accounts, such as Twitter and Facebook of Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, and the accounts created by their supporters. The results of the analysis is that Prabowo, as one of the presidential candidates, managed directed messages in social media with a single line of command, and built a positive image, while the accounts belonging to Joko Widodo, another candidate, and those made by his supporters were not well coordinated.