Looking Ahead to the Political Future: Voting Behavior of Generation Z in General Elections in Kediri Regency - East Java

Laily Purnawati; Fathul Qorib; Nunun Nurhajati

doi:10.25008/jkiski.v10i1.1076

Authors

Laily Purnawati Universitas Tulungagung
Fathul Qorib Universitas Tribhuwana Tunggadewi
Nunun Nurhajati Universitas Tulungagung

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25008/jkiski.v10i1.1076

Abstract

General elections are a crucial component of the democratic system, involving the participation of all eligible citizens. Generation Z, as one of the significant voter groups, attracts the attention of political parties due to their large number of votes. However, this generation often exhibits apathy and a lack of political knowledge. This study aims to analyze the voting behavior of Generation Z and the factors influencing it. The study employs in-depth interviews with 14 informants consisting of students, university students, and private-sector workers, as well as Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with 7 university students. The results indicate that initial voter conditions, such as economic background and previous experiences, mass media, and the characteristics of parties or candidates, significantly shape the political preferences of Generation Z. Social media emerges as the primary source of information, while experiences and discussions in academic environments enhance political participation. Emotional and rational factors also influence voting decisions, with emotions toward certain parties or candidates and rational analysis of received information playing critical roles. These findings underscore the importance of political education and media literacy in shaping informed and critical voters, contributing to the strengthening of democracy and the development of a more inclusive society in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

References

Ahmad, N. (2023). Adaptations of the News Media and Social Media Logics by Indonesian Political Parties’ Leaders and Presidential Candidates after 2004 Indonesian Presidential Election. Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia, 7(2), 423–434. https://doi.org/10.25008/jkiski.v7i2.644

Al Izzati, R., Dartanto, T., Suryadarma, D., & Suryahadi, A. (2024). Direct Elections and Trust in State and Political Institutions: Evidence from Indonesia’s Election Reform. https://doi.org/10.56506/MMHA6573

Alfaruqy, M. Z., Padmonurcahyo, A., & Salsabila, A. Z. (2022). Explaining the forms of generation Z’s political engagement: A study on generation Z in Semarang, Indonesia. Simulacra, 5(2), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.21107/sml.v5i2.17047

Alfred, J. J. R., & Wong, S. P. (2022). The Relationship between the Perception of Social Media Credibility and Political Engagement in Social Media among Generation Z. Journal of Communication, Language and Culture, 2(2), 18–33. https://doi.org/10.33093/jclc.2022.2.2.2

Allen, N. W. (2015). Clientelism and the personal vote in Indonesia. Electoral Studies, 37, 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2014.10.005

Ayu, A. (2023). KaPeu: Political Awareness Strategies for Generation Z through Social Media in the 2024 Elections. MUHARRIK: Jurnal Dakwah Dan Sosial, 6(2), 233–248. https://doi.org/10.37680/muharrik.v6i2.4097

Barhate, B., & Dirani, K. M. (2022). Career aspirations of generation Z: a systematic literature review. European Journal of Training and Development, 46(1/2), 139–157. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2020-0124

Bénabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2016). Mindful Economics: The Production, Consumption, and Value of Beliefs. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30(3), 141–164. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.30.3.141

Biermann, F., Hickmann, T., Sénit, C.-A., Beisheim, M., Bernstein, S., Chasek, P., Grob, L., Kim, R. E., Kotzé, L. J., Nilsson, M., Ordóñez Llanos, A., Okereke, C., Pradhan, P., Raven, R., Sun, Y., Vijge, M. J., van Vuuren, D., & Wicke, B. (2022). Author Correction: Scientific evidence on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nature Sustainability, 6(3), 344–344. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00938-0

BPS RI. (2020). Jumlah Penduduk menurut Wilayah, Klasifikasi Generasi, dan Jenis Kelamin. Bps.Gov.Id. https://sensus.bps.go.id/topik/tabular/sp2020/2/0/0

Bresler, M., Galiullina, S., & Gerasimova, D. (2020). Transformation of the values of Generation Z - residents of the digital society of sustainable development. In W. Strielkowski, E. Animitsa, & E. Dvoryadkina (Eds.), E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 208, p. 09043). https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020809043

Canton, H. (2021). United Nations Development Programme—UNDP. The Europa Directory of International Organizations 2021, 179–184. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003179900-28

Cheema, S. (2022). UNDP and the democratic governance agenda. In Handbook on Governance and Development (pp. 340–355). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789908756.00033

Chen, P. J., & Stilinovic, M. (2020). New media and youth political engagement. Journal of Applied Youth Studies, 3(3), 241–254.

Cresswell, J. C. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approac. SAGE Publication, Inc.

de Saint Laurent, C., Glăveanu, V. P., & Literat, I. (2021). Internet Memes as Partial Stories: Identifying Political Narratives in Coronavirus Memes. Social Media and Society, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305121988932

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2009). Handbook of Qualitative Research (Pustaka Pelajar (ed.)).

Deterding, N. M., & Waters, M. C. (2021). Flexible Coding of In-depth Interviews: A Twenty-first-century Approach. Sociological Methods & Research, 50(2), 708–739. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124118799377

Evita, N., Prestianta, A. M., & Asmarantika, R. A. (2023). Patterns of media and social media use in generation z in Indonesia. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi (Indonesian Journal of Communications Studies), 7(1), 195–214. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v7i1.5230

Firmanzah. (2007). Marketing Politik: Antara Pemahaman dan Realitas. Yayasan Pustaka Obor. https://obor.or.id/marketing-politik-antara-pemahaman-dan-realitas-cetak-ulang-ke-3

Fossati, D. (2019). The Resurgence of Ideology in Indonesia: Political Islam, Aliran and Political Behaviour. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 38(2), 119–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103419868400

Grover, P., Kar, A. K., Gupta, S., & Modgil, S. (2021). Influence of political leaders on sustainable development goals – insights from twitter. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 34(6), 1893–1916. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-07-2020-0304

Guzel, A. E., Arslan, U., & Acaravci, A. (2021). The impact of economic, social, and political globalization and democracy on life expectancy in low-income countries: are sustainable development goals contradictory? Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(9), 13508–13525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01225-2

Healy, A. J., Malhotra, N., & Mo, C. H. (2010). Irrelevant events affect voters’ evaluations of government performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(29), 12804–12809. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1007420107

Hellmann, O. (2014). Electoral Reform in Asia: Institutional Engineering against ‘Money Politics.’ Japanese Journal of Political Science, 15(2), 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109914000073

Istiqoh, A. E., Qodir, Z., & Ahmad, Z. H. (2022). Narrative Policy Framework: Presidential Threshold Policy Toward the 2024 Election. Jurnal Bina Praja, 14(3), 505–516. https://doi.org/10.21787/jbp.14.2022.505-516

Kholisoh, N., Ritonga, R., & Mahmudah, S. M. (2020). The Effect of Joko Widodo’s Political Marketing Communication in Instagram on His Image and Reputation in the Eyes of Millennial Generation in Jakarta. Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia, 5(2), 217–224. https://doi.org/10.25008/jkiski.v5i2.307

Kim, M., Park, B., & Young, L. (2020). The Psychology of Motivated versus Rational Impression Updating. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24(2), 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.12.001

Kreiss, D., Lawrence, R. G., & McGregor, S. C. (2020). In Their Own Words: Political Practitioner Accounts of Candidates, Audiences, Affordances, Genres, and Timing in Strategic Social Media Use. Studying Politics Across Media, 8–31. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429202483-2

Lailiyah, N., Pradhana, G. A., & Yuliyanto, M. (2020). Youthizen Political Literacy: Educating The Generation Z. JURNAL ILMU SOSIAL, 1(1), 22–39. https://doi.org/10.14710/jis.1.1.2020.22-39

Literat, I., & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2021). How Popular Culture Prompts Youth Collective Political Expression and Cross-Cutting Political Talk on Social Media: A Cross-Platform Analysis. Social Media + Society, 7(2), 205630512110088. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211008821

Lubis, F. H., Nasution, F. A., & Harahap, R. H. (2024). The Commodification of Religious Rituals: Representations of Political Actors in Indonesian Elections. Pharos Journal of Theology, 105(2). https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.214

Lundy, B. (2023). Generational Theory as a Lens for Approaching Musical Theatre History, 1943-2023, or a Strange Loop. Theses and Dissertations. https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/491

Mahmoud, A. B., Fuxman, L., Mohr, I., Reisel, W. D., & Grigoriou, N. (2021). “ We aren’t your reincarnation! ” workplace motivation across X, Y and Z generations. International Journal of Manpower, 42(1), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-09-2019-0448

Mashud, M., Ida, R., & Saud, M. (2023). Political discussions lead to political efficacy among students in Indonesia. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 8(1), 184–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911221143674

Negretto, G. (2020). Constitution-making and liberal democracy: The role of citizens and representative elites. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 18(1), 206–232. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moaa003

Nur, R. S., Pristotia Ega Pramesti, N., & Sulaiman, A. (2024). The Influence of Characteristic Strengths on Nature Relatedness in Generation Z. KnE Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v9i5.15168

Pacheco, J. S. (2008). Political Socialization in Context: The Effect of Political Competition on Youth Voter Turnout. Political Behavior, 30(4), 415–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-008-9057-x

Parmelee, J. H., Perkins, S. C., & Beasley, B. (2023). Personalization of politicians on Instagram: what Generation Z wants to see in political posts. Information, Communication & Society, 26(9), 1773–1788. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2027500

Pelizzo, R., & Kuzenbayev, N. (2023). Beyond Religion. World Affairs, 186(4), 978–1018. https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200231203101

Peraturan Komisi Pemilihan Umum Nomor 19 Tahun 2023 tentang Pencalonan Peserta Pemilihan Umum Presiden dan Wakil Presiden, 19 (2023). https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/269855/peraturan-kpu-no-19-tahun-2023

Plutzer, E. (2002). Becoming a Habitual Voter: Inertia, Resources, and Growth in Young Adulthood. American Political Science Review, 96(1), 41–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055402004227

Pomytkina, L., Gudmanian, A., Kovtun, O., & Yahodzinskyi, S. (2020). Personal choice: strategic life decision-making and conscience. In A. Zheltenkov & A. Mottaeva (Eds.), E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 164, p. 10021). https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202016410021

PR Kediri Regency. (2024). Website Resmi Pemerintah Kota Kediri. Kedirikota.Go.Id. https://www.kedirikota.go.id/p/berita/10112277/hadiri-rapat-pleno-rekapitulasi-perolehan-suara-pemilu-2024-tingkat-kota-sekda-kota-kediri-apresiasi-penyelenggaraan-pemilu

Pratama, M., Susanti, N., & Hidayah, N. R. (2023). Analysis of Community Satisfaction with Public Services at the Population and Civil Registration Office of Seluma Regency. Journal of Indonesian Management, 3(2), 301–312.

Purwanti, E., & Teti Hadiati. (2022). Enforcement of Norms of Women’s Representation in The Regional House of Representatives of Pekalongan Regency, Period 2019-2024. Asian Journal of Law and Humanity, 2(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.28918/ajlh.v1i2.5493

Putra, D., Fadlan, M. S., & Untari, S. (2022). The Study of Pancasila Democracy on the Undecided Phenomenon of Voters in the 2019 Presidential Election. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social Knowledge Sciences and Education (ICSKSE 2022), 285–293. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-63-3_26

Putra, F. A., & Fauzi, A. (2020). Komunikasi KPU dalam Menekan Golput di Jember. Jurnal Al-Hikmah, 18(2), 199–210. https://doi.org/10.35719/alhikmah.v18i2.35

Qorib, F., & Saleh, M. (2020). Anti Islam hingga Dekat Emak-Emak: Perang Citra Jokowi dan Prabowo pada Pemilihan Presiden 2019. Jurnal Komunikasi Global, 9(2), 187–208. https://doi.org/10.24815/jkg.v9i2.17246

Razak, S. A., Lokman, A., & Hamid, S. S. (2023). Civic Engagement of Young People in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i1/15456

Sawasdee, S. N. (2020). Electoral integrity and the repercussions of institutional manipulations: The 2019 general election in Thailand. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 5(1), 52–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/2057891119892321

Sénit, C.-A. (2020). Leaving no one behind? The influence of civil society participation on the Sustainable Development Goals. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 38(4), 693–712. https://doi.org/10.1177/2399654419884330

Setiyowati, R., Alfiandra, A., & Nurdiansyah, E. (2022). Pendidikan politik generasi z di era distrupsi. Bhineka Tunggal Ika: Kajian Teori Dan Praktik Pendidikan PKn, 9(1), 94–98. https://doi.org/10.36706/jbti.v9i1.17687

Seyfi, S., Hall, C. M., Vo-Thanh, T., & Zaman, M. (2023). How does digital media engagement influence sustainability-driven political consumerism among Gen Z tourists? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(11), 2441–2459. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2112588

Smyth, P. (2023). The Path to October 7: How Iran Built Up and Managed a Palestinian ‘Axis of Resistance’ – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Ctc.Westpoint.Edu. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-path-to-october-7-how-iran-built-up-and-managed-a-palestinian-axis-of-resistance/

Somek, A., & Wilkinson, M. A. (2020). Unpopular Sovereignty? The Modern Law Review, 83(5), 955–978. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12534

Suhariyanto, D. (2024). Identity Politics Violations in Indonesian Elections. Devotion : Journal of Research and Community Service, 5(5), 558–563. https://doi.org/10.59188/devotion.v5i5.720

Syafei, M., & Darajati, M. R. (2020). Design of General Election in Indonesia. LAW REFORM, 16(1), 97–111. https://doi.org/10.14710/lr.v16i1.30308

Turner, A. (2018). Generation Z : Technology and Social Interest. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 71(2), 103–113.

Williams, L. C., & Heikes, E. J. (1993). THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCHER’S GENDER IN THE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW: Gender & Society, 7(2), 280–291. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124393007002008

Winengan, W. (2018). Local Political Democratization Policy: Voter Participation in the Direct Regional Head Elections. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Dan Ilmu Politik, 22(1), 61. https://doi.org/10.22146/jsp.31222