social media is very familiar, thanks to the development of communication technology that gave birth to social media. so that it can be used by an individual for various purposes such as to interact with each other, share, and exchange information and ideas in a virtual network and community. The times have produced a variety of very popular social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and so on. so that from social media it can provide information in a variety of content be it text, images, videos, and so on with very fast and easy access. In addition, information can come from each user so it is not uncommon for social media to be used as a means of disseminating political information.
Lots of digital technology is used for democratic practices, such as websites, blogs, social media, mobile applications, and so on. All of these variants can be used as a tool for democratic practice in the political world. based on the results of a survey by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (2017), the main composition that dominates internet users in Indonesia is 19-34 years old with a total percentage of 49.52 percent.
Meanwhile, the use of social media as a lifestyle occupied the first position with a percentage of 87.13 percent. Meanwhile, the use of the internet in political news ranks third after social, environmental news and religious information, with a survey gain of 36.94 percent. The survey results show that social media has a considerable influence in the political field in Indonesia, so that political news accessed on social media can have an influence on political participation in Indonesia, even the quality of campaigns on social media can be more effective and save costs from manual campaigns. .
The first role of social media in politics is as a campaign media, one example of the role of social media as campaign media is during the election season, many potential candidates use social media as a means of socialization or campaigns to get support, for example in utilizing social media platforms in the form of audio visuals so that potential candidates do not need to spend more money to print brochures or put advertisements on TV which cost more. In addition, social media also played a role in the 2014 presidential election. In this momentum, social media has become a prima donna.
Two candidates for Presidential Candidates for President Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla and Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Radjasa are aware that there is a special segment of voters, namely young and novice voters, that they cannot “touch” except by using a device they are really interested in, namely social media. Both of them realize the importance of social media as a medium of communication such as campaigns. Not only in Indonesia, even in other countries, many also use social media as a means of politics, for example during the presidential election campaign of the United States, namely Barack Obama in 2008. At that time, social media played a major role in the Obama campaign.
The development of communication and information technology has made social media the fastest, most accurate, and inexpensive communication tool. Even news on television and newspapers in circulation often gets information through social media. The world of Indonesian politics will never be separated from various praise, suggestions, or harsh criticism from all elements of Indonesian society including internet users. The strong role of social media in the world of politics to get people's attention through campaigns, help people to become politically literate, and increase voter participation. Therefore, social media has a sizable role in politics.
REFERENCES
Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association. (2017). Indonesian Internet User Penetration & Behavior Infographic 2017. Retrived from
Ardha, B. (2014). Social Media As Media 2014 Political Party Campaign in Indonesia. Journal of Communication Vision. 13 (1): 105-120. Retrived from
https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/142298-ID-social-media-sebagai-media-kampanye-part.pdf
