SALEMBA – The advancement of the digital era has encouraged the growth of digital platforms as a new communication medium in Indonesia. This is the background of the Sharing Session with Guest Lecturers and Doctoral Students on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at the IASTH Building, 6th Floor, UI Salemba Campus. This Sharing Session invited a guest lecturer, Dr. Laura Malita, a lecturer in social and digital media at West University of Timisoara, Romania. In addition to presenting guest lecturers, this event discussed more deeply related to online platform research conducted by Doctoral Students of the Communication Science Graduate Program at the University of Indonesia, namely Anastasia Y. Widyaningrum, Evvy Silalahi, and Kurnia Arofah. The event was hosted by Snezana S. Brodjonegoro, S.Sos., M.A.Sc. and Dr. Indah Santi Pratidina, S.Sos., M.Soc.Sci. as lecturers from the Department of Communication Science, University of Indonesia.
The big theme raised at the Sharing Session this time was “Developing Research Themes from the Field: Cases of Online Platforms’ Communication in Indonesia”. The research discussed by Anastasia Y. Widyaningrum entitled Online Community and Local Problems During Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia. Meanwhile, Evvy Silalahi discussed “Collective Action and Connective Action for Justice: Case Studies on the Rape of Female Students at the Bandung Islamic Boarding School and Justice for Brigadier J”. The last theme discusses Kurnia Arofah’s research which aims to find out how the mediatization of religion through social media plays a role in transforming the preachers market in Indonesia, specifically related to the sermons delivered by Ustadz Felix Siauw.
The three studies are interesting to discuss together with Dr. Laura Malita who is an expert in the field of social media and digital, especially now that we know that the growth of online platforms in Indonesia is very massive. Interestingly, Dr. Laura Malita said that digital platforms have changed communication patterns around the world, not just Indonesia. This of course has a considerable impact on the development of communication in Indonesia. Good utilization of online platforms can be a solution as well as a benefit for every aspect of human life.
The discussion, which lasted for almost two hours, was very insightful and knowledgeable for both speakers and participants. The Sharing Session was attended by lecturers and master and doctoral students at the University of Indonesia Postgraduate Program in Communication Sciences. At the end of the event, Dr. Laura Malita expressed her pride and appreciation for the research presented by the three doctoral students.
(Dewi Lestari Natalia/DLN)
