THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SELF-IDENTITY IN INDONESIAN SOCIETY

The development of information and communication technology has changed the way humans interact. Social media, as one of these technological products, has become an inseparable part of everyday life. In Indonesia, social media use has increased significantly, especially among the younger generation. This research aims to identify the positive and negative impacts of social media on social interaction in Indonesian society. This study used qualitative research methods. The data collection technique in this research is a literature study. The data that has been collected is then analyzed in three stages: data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The research results show that social media brings significant changes in social interactions and self-identity, including enriching social experiences, developing self-identity, simplifying the communication process, helping to build new communities, assisting individuals in expressing themselves, and increasing social awareness. However, this positive impact is also balanced by negative impacts, such as excessive use of social media leading to dependence and addiction, cyber bullying, privacy theft, social comparison, fake news, and the use of fake identities. The findings of this study have significant implications for policymakers, educators, and social media platform developers. Understanding the dual impact of social media on society can inform the creation of policies and educational programs that promote responsible social media use while mitigating its negative effects.


INTRODUCTION
In the 21st century, Indonesia has experienced very rapid technological developments, which have fundamentally changed the way we interact, communicate and live our daily lives.In the ongoing flow of change, Indonesia, with its large population and rich cultural diversity, is not only a witness, but also a major actor in this change.As the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia faces unique challenges and opportunities in adapting and managing the impact of technological developments on its social life (Rabbani & Najicha, 2023).
The development of information and communication technology has revolutionized the way humans interact.Social media, as one of the results of these technological advances, has now become an inseparable part of everyday life.Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp allow people to connect instantly and communicate beyond geographic boundaries.Social media is not only used to interact with friends and family, but also for professional, educational and entertainment purposes (Kim & Kim, 2019).These changes have redefined the concept of social interaction, connecting individuals around the world in previously unimaginable ways.
In Indonesia, social media use has increased significantly, especially among the younger generation.According to the latest report from We Are Social, in January 2024, WhatsApp will become the most popular social media application in Indonesia.Of all internet users in Indonesia aged 16-64 years, the majority or 90.9% use this application.Instagram is in second place with 85.3% of users, followed by Facebook with 81.6%, and TikTok with 73.5%.Additionally, Telegram is used by 61.3% of users, and X (formerly Twitter) is used by 57.5%.Other applications such as Facebook Messenger, Pinterest, Kuaishou (Kwai and Snack Video), and LinkedIn are also used, although in smaller proportions, as seen in the graph.Overall, We Are Social notes that there are 139 million social media user identities in Indonesia in January 2024, which is equivalent to 49.9% of the total national population.
The high use of social media has had a big impact on the way Indonesian people communicate.Apart from that, social media has also become an alternative for citizens to interact.In fact, in some areas, social media has become an alternative to support public services.Thus, the presence of social media has influenced the way of communicating and then changed people's behavior.Social media can be used as a means to exist both personally and in groups (Ren, 2024).In fact, social media is often used as a means to share complaints, both in personal and friendship matters.This is reflected in changes in people's behavior which is largely influenced by the use of social media.One example is the desire to use social media as a platform to demonstrate one's existence (Arianto, 2022).
Previous research by (Marwan, 2023) found that what today's teenagers display on social media is not their true self, but rather the result of self-construction that forms a new identity in front of social media users.It would be good for today's teenagers to be more self-aware in using social media, so that their views on a topic are not rigid, but rather based on the considerations made so that the role of new media can be a positive thing.Another study by (Pratidina & Mitha, 2023) found that social media has both beneficial and detrimental impacts in real life.This can increase friendship networks, encourage greater cooperation, reduce conflict, and have other positive impacts.In-person engagement decreases, disagreements increase due to the negative influence of social media, and social media has the potential to alienate close friends and family members.
The novelty of this research is the combination of two variables, namely social interaction and self-identity formation in society, which has never been studied before in studying social impact.This research enriches the understanding of social interaction and self-identity in the digital era, helps develop relevant theories, and provides new insights into the duality of identity in the context of social media use.This research aims to identify the positive and negative impacts of social media on social interaction in Indonesian society.Thus, the benefit of this research is to make a significant contribution to the development of literature and theories related to social interaction and self-identity formation in the digital era.This research is also expected to be a reference for researchers, academics, and practitioners in understanding the social dynamics that occur due to the use of social media, especially in Indonesia.In addition, the results of this study can be used as a basis for policy makers in formulating regulations that aim to maximize the positive benefits of social media while minimizing its negative impacts.

METHOD
This study used qualitative research methods.Qualitative research methods are research approaches that focus on understanding social and cultural phenomena through collecting nonnumerical data.The aim is to gain a deep understanding of the experiences, perspectives and context surrounding a phenomenon (Wahidwarni, 2017).The data collection technique in this research is literature study.Literature study is a series of activities related to methods of collecting library data, reading and taking notes, and managing research materials (Bennett & Royle, 2023).The data collected in this research was analyzed through three main stages, namely data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions.First, data reduction involves the process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, and transforming raw data obtained from various sources.Second, data presentation is carried out by arranging the reduced data into a structured and easy to understand format such as an organized narrative.Finally, the conclusion drawing stage involves interpreting the data that has been presented to find meaning, identify implications, and draw up final conclusions that answer the research questions.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Social media now seems to have become an inseparable part of modern society, with rapid development from year to year.According (Sari et al., 2018), social media is a collection of software that facilitates individuals and communities to gather, share, communicate, and in some cases, cooperate or play together.The main advantage of social media lies in usergenerated content (UGC), where this content is created by users, not by editors as happens in traditional mass media.This means that anyone can create and share their own content, with each user expressing themselves on social media.
Meanwhile, according to (Rafiq, 2020), social media is an online platform where users can easily participate, share, and create content.This form of social media includes blogs, social networks, wikis, forums, and virtual worlds.Blogs, social networks, and wikis are the most common types of social media used by people around the world.From these two views, it can be concluded that social media is a platform that provides dynamic social interaction and encourages active participation from its users through various forms of content that are easy to create and share.Therefore, social media has become an important and multifunctional communication tool in the life of modern society.
Modern society today is almost impossible not to be exposed to social media, because whether we realize it or not, the media with all its content has become part of human life.Then along with the times, the presence of media is becoming increasingly diverse and growing (Watie, 2016).According to Kaplan and Haenlein in (Rafiq, 2020), there are six types of social media, which are divided into: 1. Collaboration project Is a type of social media where users can collaborate in changing, adding, or deleting content on a particular website.The most famous example is Wikipedia, where users can contribute to creating and updating articles.

Blogs and Microblogs
A medium that facilitates users to express their thoughts, opinions, and experiences freely.Blogs allow users to write long posts, while microblogs such as Twitter limit the number of characters that can be used, allowing users to keep their thoughts short and direct.

Content Sharing
This type of social media encourages users to share different types of media content such as videos, ebooks, images and more with other users.For example, platforms like YouTube and TikTok are popular places to share and watch videos.

Social Networking Sites
These are platforms that allow users to connect with others and share personal information.Sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram allow users to build their personal profiles, interact with friends, family, and coworkers, and share content such as photos, videos, and status updates.

Virtual Gaming World
Social media also comes in the form of virtual game worlds, where users can create their own avatars and interact in 3D environments that mimic the real world.The most famous examples are online games such as World of Warcraft and Fortnite, where players can play together in real time.

Virtual worlds
Virtual worlds are social media where users feel like they are living in that world, similar to virtual game worlds, but freer and more geared towards everyday life.An example is Second Life, where users can create their own avatars, explore the virtual world, interact with others, and even perform activities such as shopping, attending events, and attending classes.
The presence of social media has been utilized by various groups and ages in Indonesian society.Almost everyone uses social media as a tool to obtain and disseminate information to the public (Cahyono, 2016).The phenomenon of the popularity of social media, of course, has a major impact on various aspects of life, including social interaction and self-identity.Based on its definition, social interaction is a dynamic process in social relations in which individuals or groups interact with each other, in the form of relationships between individuals, between groups, or between individuals and groups together.Social interaction is considered the core of all social life, because without social interaction, life together will not be realized (Pratidina & Mitha, 2023).
Meanwhile, self-identity is defined as an individual's awareness of himself, which comes from thinking and observing himself.The word "identity" comes from the Latin "Idem" which means "similar", which is the basis of personality formation.Identity includes all images of a person's self in organizing their entire existence, not only limited to the ability to interact with others, but also includes traits, roles, and other aspects of the individual's self (Sakti & Yulianto, 2018).Then, in terms of the popularity of social media, it has a complex impact on social interaction and self-identity in Indonesia, with positive and negative sides.
On the positive side, social media brings significant changes in social interaction and self-identity.First, the advantage of social media is its global reach, allowing users to expand their social networks.Platforms in social media help individuals to connect with people from different backgrounds, cultures and geographical locations, making it easier to establish relationships with people from all over the world, even if they never meet in person.In addition, social media also provides opportunities for users to learn and develop themselves through interactions with online friends, as they can share knowledge, experiences, and feedback with each other (Mulyono, 2021).Due to the ability of social media to expand users' social networks, it has a positive impact on enriching social experiences and developing self-identity.
Furthermore, another positive impact of social media is that it facilitates the communication process.Social media provides an easy and affordable platform to communicate with others, both directly and indirectly.Communication with social media becomes faster and easier, as these platforms provide anytime, anywhere interaction.Involving features such as direct messaging, voice calls, and video calls, users can communicate instantly without time and place restrictions (Pratidina & Mitha, 2023).This helps individuals to stay connected with family and friends who are in distant places, as well as collaborate with others on various projects.
Along with the ease of communication through social media platforms, people can make friends and share information with others anywhere and anytime.As a result, the number of one's friends or acquaintances can increase, as users can easily add new people to their friends list.In addition, the increase in friendships through social media can also help in building new communities.Social media facilitates finding individuals who have similar interests, and forming online communities where people with similar interests can gather, communicate, and exchange information or opinions (Haniza, 2019).Online communities today can be found easily, either through forum sites or other social networking platforms.These platforms provide support, motivation, and valuable information to their members.As a result, individuals are helped in their social interactions, can connect with communities that match their interests and needs, and benefit from interaction and collaboration with people who share similar interests.
Furthermore, social media can also help individuals in expressing themselves, as social media platforms provide a variety of features that encourage creativity and self-expression of its users.As a place where individuals can freely express thoughts, ideas and experiences to others.Its influence can help in strengthening individual self-identity and increasing selfconfidence (Lubis, 2014).Through social media platforms, individuals can feel more accepted and valued for their ability to express themselves authentically and creatively.
Meanwhile, the positive impact of social media on social interaction also includes increased social awareness.Social media has the power to influence public opinion in society.Through social media, raising support or mass movements can be formed, because what is conveyed in it has been proven to be able to shape public or community opinions, attitudes and behavior (Sulistiani, 2021).Spreading information quickly and widely, social media can be used by individuals to engage in discussions and actions aimed at fighting for goals that are considered noble.For example, fighting for human rights, environmental advocacy, social campaigns, and so on.
Based on the previous explanation, it is known that social media has a positive impact on social interaction and individual self-identity.However, these positive impacts are also offset by negative impacts, such as the first excessive use of social media can cause dependence and addiction.This happens because of easy access through devices such as mobile phones, users are connected to the internet and open social media sites whenever they want.Friendship sites become the main destination for users, where they can spend hours in front of the gadget screen playing games, making video calls, chatting, sharing photos or videos, and updating their status (Haniza, 2019).Exacerbated by the increasing number of features offered by social media, users tend to never feel satisfied and continue to spend their time exploring the various content available.This phenomenon reflects that people's dependence on social media has become widespread and troubling.
With the rapid growth of social media, many individuals spend days in front of screens, neglecting other more productive activities.The impact can negatively affect mental, physical and social health, especially in school children.They tend to become lazy learners and communicate less in the real world, resulting in impaired language comprehension.Children who are too fixated on interactions in cyberspace tend to be more self-centered and less concerned about the surrounding environment, due to spending excessive time on the internet, resulting in a lack of empathy in real life (Mulyono, 2021).In addition, social media can also create distance between previously close individuals and neglect direct interaction with those around them (Pratidina & Mitha, 2023).
Another negative impact of social media use is the phenomenon of cyberbullying, which occurs when social media is used without responsibility and results in harmful behavior.Cyberbullying is a deliberate and repeated act of intimidation against individuals or groups through online platforms.According to research by (Sekarayu & Santoso, 2022), social media is the most commonly used platform in cyberbullying cases.Cyberbullying is a deliberate and repeated act of intimidation against individuals or groups through the use of technology.It can take various forms, ranging from false expressions, jealousy, discrimination, to vulgar comments.
The impact of cyberbullying can cause emotional and psychological trauma for victims.Those who are victims of cyberbullying tend to be more prone to emotional disturbances and disruptions in friendship relationships, and can also result in health problems, such as headaches, recurrent stomachaches, or sleep disturbances (Sekarayu & Santoso, 2022).The impact of cyberbullying is very serious and extremely dangerous as it increases the victim's risk of deep depression and even near suicide.This shows that cyberbullying has serious consequences for the well-being and safety of its victims.
Apart from cyberbullying, social media also reflects other crimes such as privacy theft.Privacy is information in the form of personal identity, this information should be kept confidential (Putra & Hidayatullah, 2020).However, the use of social media can threaten privacy because personal information can easily be leaked or misused by irresponsible parties.The use of data by social media platforms can also lead to privacy and security issues, which if misused can damage user trust and harm an organization's reputation (Zen & Sitanggang, 2023).
Furthermore, another negative impact of social media is social comparison, or from a psychological point of view, this phenomenon is also known as "social comparison".Social comparison is the process by which a person evaluates themselves by comparing themselves to others in terms of various aspects of life.This process can create competitive and mutually influential social interactions between individuals, which are often driven by the need to evaluate oneself (Hasanah & Abidin, 2023).Social media can encourage individuals to compare themselves to others, which in turn can lead to a sense of dissatisfaction with our own lives.The impact can be increased levels of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, triggered by feeling dissatisfied with one's own life when comparing it to others who appear more successful or happy on social media platforms.
The next negative impact is the rise of misinformation or fake news that spreads widely through social media.Social media is a platform that allows the spread of unverified and unverified information (Zen & Sitanggang, 2023).Relying on invalid or inaccurate information can lead to confusion in society and can lead to wrong decision-making, or even lead to the spread of misinformation.Thus, the use of data from social media in the development of information systems requires careful filtering and evaluation to ensure the reliability and quality of the data used.
The Impact of Social Media on Social Interaction and Self-Identity in Indonesian Society Vol.3, No.9, August 2024 Despite its negative impact, social media actually provides an opportunity for individuals to explore and build self-identity, as well as express themselves freely and connect with people who accept them for who they are.Through social media, individuals who may have previously felt ordinary, shy, or nervous to express their opinions in public, finally get the opportunity to voice themselves freely (Cahyono, 2016).This shows that social media has an important role in providing expression space for individuals and helping individuals feel more comfortable expressing themselves online.
However, there is a risk that social media can also be used as a means to create false or inauthentic identities.According to (Lubis, 2014) (Marwan, 2023), there is a gap between the real world and the virtual world on social media, where individuals tend to create false representations of themselves.Individuals are often tempted to present an idealized or perfect version of themselves on social media, while hiding weaknesses or flaws, resulting in insecurity and low self-esteem (Irianingsih et al., 2018).
Based on these findings, it can be concluded that social media has an impact on social interaction and self-identity in Indonesian society.However, the impact has two sides, both positive and negative.Therefore, it is important for individuals to use social media wisely and responsibly, and to be aware of its potential negative impacts.Individuals need to utilize social media to build positive social interactions with others, express their identity authentically, and contribute to positive change.Thus, awareness of appropriate social media use can help create a healthier and more beneficial online media environment for all users

CONCLUSION
This research can be concluded by showing that social media brings significant changes in social interaction and self-identity formation.On the one hand, social media enriches social experiences, facilitates self-identity development, and facilitates communication and the formation of new communities that were previously difficult to reach.Social media also plays a role in raising social awareness with rapid information dissemination and broad mobilization of social action.On the other hand, the negative impacts of social media include dependence and addiction, the threat of cyberbullying, theft of privacy, unhealthy social comparisons, as well as the spread of fake news and the use of fake identities.This research makes a significant contribution to the relevant field of study by offering a comprehensive analysis of how social media changes social interaction and self-identity formation in the digital age.By exploring both sides of the impact of social media, this research enriches the understanding of the dual role of social media in shaping social dynamics in modern society.In addition, this research fills a gap in the literature by combining two variables that are often studied separately, namely social interaction and self-identity, and provides a contextually relevant perspective for Indonesians and non-Westerners in the global discourse on the impact of social media.