Navigating Crisis Amid the Stagflation Storm: A Netnographic Analysis of Public Sentiment on Rupiah Weakening and Calls for Political Reform

Indria Sukma Sektiyaningsih; Dina Agnesia Sihombing; Rochayati Febriarhamadini; Prasastiara Eka Marsella

doi:10.59890/ijsss.v4i3.256

Authors

Indria Sukma Sektiyaningsih Institut Bisnis dan Multimedia Asmi, Jakarta, Indonesia
Dina Agnesia Sihombing Institut Bisnis dan Multimedia Asmi, Jakarta, Indonesia
Rochayati Febriarhamadini Institut Bisnis dan Multimedia Asmi, Jakarta, Indonesia
Prasastiara Eka Marsella Institut Bisnis dan Multimedia Asmi, Jakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59890/ijsss.v4i3.256

Keywords:

Currency Depreciation, Relative Deprivation, Legitimacy Crisis, Netnography, Cyber Resistance, Digital Public Space

Abstract

Global macroeconomic instability has triggered extreme currency depreciation in emerging markets, putting Indonesia at serious risk of stagflation. This study aims to analyze the structure of public sentiment in cyberspace regarding the weakening of the Rupiah and green energy transition policies, as well as exploring how economic anxiety transforms into political radicalization. The research method uses a qualitative netnography approach, with primary data consisting of organic textual artifacts, memes, and hashtags extracted from X, Instagram, and TikTok over the timeline of peak monetary shocks. The study results state that: Thematic analysis found the workings of the 'Digital Economic Deprivation Transmission' scheme. Instead of seeing currency depreciation as just an isolated monetary issue, the public interprets regulations on subsidized energy price adjustments and mass calls for electric vehicles (EVs) as class-biased and elitist policies. The widening gap between expectations of welfare and reality is triggering collective relative deprivation. Through digital public spaces, individual financial frustrations turn into massive cyber-resistance that undermines the legitimacy of the executive regime. Monetary authorities and the government are being called on to prioritize social empathy in crisis communication and to reallocate fiscal resources to the real sector to maintain basic grassroots price stability

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