Journal of Communication Studies

Child Grooming News Coverage: Psychological Communication of Nikita Mirzani’s Child on Instagram Social Media

Jelita Ruqqayah — 2025-07-26

Grooming is a systematic action carried out by perpetrators to build closeness and trust with prospective victims to manipulate or exploit them. This study aims to analyze the impact of psychological communication received by Nikita Mirzani’s child involved in news coverage, both from the perspective of child developmental psychology and the social impact in their environment. This study used a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques included interviews, observations on Instagram, literature studies, and documentation. The research results show the dimension of receiving stimuli through the senses: Informants learned about the Laura case from social media and further investigated to understand the events; the process mediating stimuli and responses triggered emotional and moral reflection, turned neutral attitudes critical and disappointed; predicted responses sparked initial empathy toward the perpetrator that then shifted to caution; sympathy moved toward the victim; affirmation of responses revealed that the victim’s behavior is influenced by the environment, intensive communication, and relationships

The Psychology of Communication in Constructing the Self-Concept of Crossdressing Cosplayers

Muhammad Rafli Ardiansyah — 2025-07-27

This study analyzes how communication psychology plays a role in shaping the self-concept of individuals who practice cross-dressing within the cosplay community in Indonesia. This phenomenon gives rise to complex identity dynamics, as it directly intersects with cultural norms that tend to be conservative toward non-binary gender expressions. The study employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive method. Informants were selected using purposive sampling techniques based on their consistency in cross-dressing cosplay and active involvement within the community. Data collection techniques included in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and literature review. The results show that the psychological communication process in cross-dressing cosplay involves intrapersonal communication through identity reflection, social support from the community, and reinforcement from social media despite the presence of cultural conflicts and norms attached to gender issues. Crossdressing is positioned not merely as a form of artistic performance but as a symbolic strategy to express, test, and negotiate self-identity within a social space that is not yet fully inclusive. These findings confirm that self-identity is a communicative construct that is dynamic, contextual, and potentially subversive to dominant norms. This study makes an important contribution to the development of communication psychology studies in the domains of alternative identity expression and popular culture. The limitation of this research lies in the small number of participants and the narrow geographic scope; thus, further research with a larger participant base and multi-location approaches is necessary for more comprehensive results.

Gen Z Construction in Developing Expertise Profiles on Social Media

Devinna Anindhita Hiradan Muntaha — 2025-08-05

The use of social media as a means of self-actualisation continues to grow, making it highly attractive for Gen Z to use as a medium for their Expertise Profiles. This research aims to explore how Gen Z utilises and constructs their personal social media to build an Expertise Profile. Gen Z uses social media, particularly Instagram and LinkedIn, simultaneously to digitally showcase their skills, achievements, and experiences. This study explores the process of virtual identity formation among Gen Z through observation and in-depth interviews with informants who actively use both platforms to meet their career needs. This research uses a qualitative descriptive approach, with data collected through interviews, observations, and literature reviews. Informants were selected using purposive sampling, and the data obtained were analysed through data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results of this study indicate that consistency in self-presentation and the application of cross-platform linking strategies are key to building a strong, professional image.

Da'wah Communication in Enhancing Islamic Understanding among Students at IAIN Ternate in the Digital Era

Ulwia Usman — 2025-08-07

The development of the digital sphere has brought significant changes in communication methods and the dissemination of information in various aspects, especially in the field of da'wah. This study aims to explain the influence of digital technology in increasing the Islamic understanding of students at IAIN Ternate, North Maluku. The research utilizes a qualitative approach with a literature review method. Primary data sources were obtained from various da'wah content on social media, such as content from Ustadz Abdus Somad, while secondary data was gathered from books, articles, and other references relevant to the research. Data analysis was conducted using content analysis techniques, utilizing Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation theory. The results of this research show that the use of digital technology in da'wah can increase the creativity of preachers and serves as an effective medium for conveying da'wah messages, enabling those messages to be easily received by the audience—in this context, the students of IAIN Ternate

Sentiment Analysis and Communication Networks Towards Ridwan Kamil in #PilkadaJakarta2024 on Social Media X (Twitter)

Bayu Putra — 2025-08-08

The development of social media has changed the landscape of political communication, especially in shaping public opinion towards political actors ahead of regional head elections. This study aims to analyze public sentiment and the structure of communication networks towards Ridwan Kamil in the context of the 2024 Jakarta Pilkada on social media X (Twitter). The methods used include sentiment classification with the Naïve Bayes Classifier (NBC) algorithm and network analysis using the Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach through the Gephi software. A total of 2,000 tweets were analyzed after undergoing pre-processing stages, including cleaning, case folding, tokenizing, stopword removal, and stemming using TF-IDF. The classification results show that 45.6% of tweets are positive, 31.8% are neutral, and 22.6% are negative, with a model accuracy of 62.90% and a margin of error of ±2.56%. In terms of communication structure, the network was found to be fragmented and influenced by informal nodes such as @BungkusTukang, @NalarPolitik_, and @irenejuliency, while the @ridwankamil account played a strategic role as a liaison between clusters. The communication patterns formed followed the configuration of a personal star ego network and a bridge-type one. These findings indicate that digital political communication is dominated not only by official actors but also by non-institutional actors who significantly influence public discourse

Optimization of Educational Da’wah on Social Media as a Communication Strategy for Islamic Religious Education for Gen Z in High Schools in Blitar City

Muhammad Fikri 'Ainun Najib — 2025-07-31

The digital revolution has influenced the pattern of Islamic da’wah communication, especially among Generation Z, who grew up in a social media ecosystem. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have now become the main sources of religious information for high school students. This study aims to analyze effective educational da’wah communication strategies on social media to support Islamic Religious Education (PAI) learning. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, data was collected through observation, interviews, and documentation at three high schools in Blitar City: SMA 1, SMA 2, and SMA 3. The data analysis technique in this research follows the stages of data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. Data reduction was carried out by sorting and simplifying the results of observations, interviews, and documentation deemed relevant to the research focus. Next, data presentation was arranged systematically in a narrative form to make it easier for researchers to fully understand the problem’s context. The final stage involved inductive conclusion-drawing based on findings in the field to answer the research problem statements. The study’s results show that social media can enhance students’ understanding, participation, and interest in PAI material when conveyed through visual, communicative, and contextual content. PAI teachers play a crucial role as facilitators in designing digital da’wah that is not only aesthetically appealing but also strengthens students’ Islamic character. This study recommends an integration of the PAI curriculum that is adaptive to digital technology as well as digital competency training for teachers as efforts to develop relevant and impactful da’wah strategies.