Gerindra DPR Member Soroti Public Conversation Trend in Digital Space: Contains Political Messages that Cannot Be Ignored

Member of the House of Representatives from the Gerindra Faction, Azis Subekti, highlighted the digital culture and creative content that has recently influenced the direction of public conversations and the state's responsibility for the future of Indonesia's digital ecosystem.

According to him, the state must recognize the digital space as a cultural space whose circulation requires protection.

Azis said that in recent times, public conversations in digital spaces have shown an interesting direction while containing political messages that should not be ignored. On social media, search engines, and video sharing platforms, the themes of digital culture, nostalgia, music, and creative content dominate the public's attention - both in Indonesia and globally.

"This phenomenon is not just a trend in entertainment, but a signal of a change in the relationship between citizens and the digital space itself," Azis said in a statement, Friday, January 9.

Azis said, Indonesia with hundreds of millions of internet users and a very high level of social media participation, is now living in a real attention economy. Online music, short videos, and creative content have become the mainstream of public consumption, surpassing news and policy information.

"This is not just a preference, but a reflection of collective saturation of the digital space that has been too fast, noisy, and full of competition without pause," he said.

"Nostalgia for old songs, visuals from the 1990s-2000s era, to simple content formats, emerged as a cultural reaction. It gives a sense of familiarity, calm, and human. In the context of cultural politics, this is a signal that the public is not only looking for entertainment, but looking for meaning and emotional connection in the midst of the rapid flow of technology," continued the legislator who is also a practitioner in the field of digitalization and big data analytics.

Azis assessed that if the state failed to read this signal, the digital space would continue to move wildly following the logic of algorithms alone, not social needs. Interestingly, he said, the most enduring creative content today is not the most expensive or most sensational, but the most honest and personal.

"Process-based content, daily life, and authentic narratives show a higher level of engagement. Digital audiences have changed from passive consumers to value curators. They choose, assess, and legitimize. This is an important cultural shift that policymakers should read," explained the member of Commission II of the DPR.

Unfortunately, said Azis, the development of Indonesia's digital economy is still too often reduced to a technical project: networks are expanded, bandwidth is increased, cyber security is tightened.

"All of that is important, but not enough. The state is not fully present in ensuring the quality of the digital space as a cultural space and a shared living space. As a result, we have advanced infrastructure, but a fragile ecosystem in terms of social and economic creativity," he explained.

However, Azis assessed that this is where the political responsibility of the state becomes relevant.

First, the state must recognize the digital space as a cultural space. He emphasized that archives of old music, films, and creative works that are now coming back to life should not be allowed to circulate without protection.

"The state needs to ensure legal, fair, and pro-creator management, so that nostalgia does not become a unilateral exploitation, but rather a source of new economic value that is just," he said.

Second, digital literacy must be upgraded. So far, according to Azis, literacy has often been narrowed down to hoax and security issues. In fact, the real challenge is understanding algorithms, the ethics of producing and consuming content, and respecting copyright.

"With the dominance of young users, the failure of the state to build mature literacy means handing over the future of the creative economy to market mechanisms that are not always fair," he said.

Third, the state can no longer be neutral towards the fate of digital creators. Many creators grow quickly, go viral, and then fall without economic protection. Azis said a healthy ecosystem requires real policies: training, incubation, access to financing, and cross-sector collaboration between platforms, industries, communities, and governments.

"Creativity should not stop as a spectacle, but must be recognized as a job and profession," he said.

Fourth, digital regulation must be adaptive and courageous, but not repressive. Azis emphasized that the state is not there to silence expression, but to maintain a common space so that it remains safe, fair, and productive.

"A dialogic approach, based on policy testing, and public participation is much more relevant than rigid prohibitions that often lag behind the reality of technology," he said.

Azis said public conversations about nostalgia, music, and creative content are ultimately the subtle language of the community in conveying anxiety and hope.

"It marks a desire for a more humane digital space. That's where Indonesia's political opportunities lie: building a digital ecosystem that is not only crowded and profitable, but also meaningful in connecting collective memories, today's creativity, and the courage of the country to shape a more just and inclusive future," he concluded.