Netnographic Research Research Articles

Political Labeling on Social Media: a Netnographic Study of “SDM Rendah” in Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election on X (Twitter)

The 2024 presidential election campaign in Indonesia has produced various unique phenomena, including the emergence of the "Low Human Resources'' (SDM Rendah) label directed at the supporters of candidate pair 02 by the supporters of candidate pairs 01 and 03. The existence of this label has become a spotlight because it reflects the dynamics of politics and social interaction within the community. In conducting the netnographic research strategy in this study, the primary focus is on gaining a deep understanding of the underlying reasons for this labeling, as well as how it affects public perception and the overall political dynamics. The social media platform X was selected as the research subject due to its crucial role in facilitating communicative interaction, including the labeling process. It is expected that the results of this research can provide deeper insights into the phenomenon of labeling in the political realm on the X social media platform, as well as provide a better understanding for politicians and the public regarding the importance of using social media platforms wisely in the political context. This research also has significant academic implications in the field of communication science, particularly in the theory of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), which can contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of social media in contemporary politics. The practical implications cannot be overlooked either, especially in the efforts to raise awareness of the power and impact of social media platforms in the political context during the 2024 presidential campaign in Indonesia.

Efficacy of Automating the Analysis of TripAdvisor Data in Tourism and Climate Studies

ABSTRACT The viability and competitiveness of tourism locations depends, in part, on climate. Netnographic research utilising TripAdvisor reviews can objectively evaluate tourists’ climatic sensitivity and the meteorological factors most important to them. Manually reading and coding hundreds of reviews is time-consuming. Web-scraping can automate this process and analyse hundreds of thousands of reviews nationwide to evaluate climatic influence more comprehensively. This paper compares the outputs of manually collected and web-scraped TripAdvisor reviews, evaluating the efficacy of a web-scraping approach. The total number of climatic mentions captured varied by a statistically insignificant 3.56%, demonstrating a reasonable efficacy of web-scraping. Out of 26,687 TripAdvisor reviews, 1,163 mentioned climate. This 4.4% mean sensitivity to climatic variables is statistically significantly different to the 7.9% yielded from manual data collection. The two methodologies had minor statistically insignificant differences in climatic references at 19 destinations, ranging from 0.42% to 8.26%. A webscraping approach is thus possible but should be used with caution.

Dramaturgical Analysis of Role-players on Telegram

K-Pop (Korean Pop) culture is very popular among Indonesian people, especially children and teenagers. One of the impacts of the popularity of K-Pop is the emergence of role-play accounts. Role-play is a make-believe game that requires players to imitate a K-pop idol. Someone who plays role-play will be called a role-player. We aimed to analyze the differences between how a role-player act in the role-play world and the real world. This research focuses on Telegram role-players. We applied a qualitative netnographic research design and used a dramaturgical theory as a research approach. The results of this study showed that the role-players used Telegram as their front stages where they managed the impressions according to the role-play personas they chose. In addition, the results of this research showed that the direct message features of the role-players’ Telegram accounts are used as their middle stages while the backstage is their real life. The results suggest that each role-player has a different character from their role-play persona, showing the distinctive differences among the front stage, the middle stage and the backstage.

To Alleviate Stigma: How Incels Negotiate Masculinity Online

This article draws on Goffman’s stigma theory to explore how incels (involuntary celibates) alleviate stigma and negotiate masculinity by employing normification, minstrelization, and militant chauvinism. Using netnographic research, I qualitatively explore three incel forums consisting of 927 comment threads. While incels advocate antifeminism and misogyny, they also exhibit traits and behaviors usually avoided in subcultures dominated by men, such as narratives of loneliness and inadequacy related to hegemonic ideals of masculinity and hyper-masculinity. This article explores the ambiguity of gender processes online, identity negotiation among incels and the use and combination of various stigma management strategies to uphold, challenge, or reject hegemonic masculinity. I argue that closer attention to stigma can help us understand incels’ countercultural expressions within broader social and cultural notions about masculinity and shame.

Galactic transmissions from tantra bros, pu$$y priestesses, red-pilled starseeds, and ayahuasca girls: Decoding the pedagogies of conspiritual life coaching

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the growth of online wellness influencers who promote products and treatments to address spiritual distress by incorporating conspiracy theories into their messaging. In this article we investigate the rise of the “conspiritual life coach,” a subset of wellness influencers that emerged during the pandemic. We analyze their pedagogical approaches, illustrating how they exploit the ambiguity of life coaching as a therapeutic or organizational tool to promote disinformation and establish authority. Drawing on almost a year of netnographic research into the online presence of prominent coaches (Aubrey Marcus, JP Sears, Teal Swan, Kaia Ra, and others), we identify five pedagogical strategies that characterize their messaging. These coaches (1) focus on bodily purity and body fascism, (2) reinforce gender binaries, (3) exploit client trauma, (4) appropriate Indigeneity and perpetuate coloniality, and (5) commercialize spirituality through "enlightened" goods and services. We argue that these strategies work together to enact a curriculum of spiritual bypassing that serves as the main driving force of conspiritual life coaching, which we discuss in the final section of this article.

Netnographic research in understanding social media as a new public sphere

The development of information and communication technology and new media has brought a new dimension of public space to society. In the 19th century, the realization of a public space that really facilitated public communication was very limited due to the domination of public space by the state and industrial corporations. However, with the existence of the Internet, it is possible for a new public space or new public sphere called social media to emerge. The emergence of social media has succeeded in changing people’s interaction and communication patterns from offline to online. This has implications for the emergence of social media phenomena, both positive and negative. In order to understand the facts of sociality in online spaces or social media, a new research method technique called netnography is needed. Netnography is present as a lens and mitigator for various forms of changes in interaction and communication patterns in online spaces, which ultimately give rise to a new online culture.

Digitising Interpretation: Transforming Tafsir Al-Mishbah in the Context of the Living Quran

This research aims to explore the relationship between digitizing interpretation, texts, messages, and societal practices through the transformation, reception, and deconstruction of Tafsir Al-Mishbah. The issue of digitizing interpretation is often viewed solely through the lens of technological transition and historical narrative, overlooking its societal implications. This study seeks to delve into the interplay among these elements by examining the digitization process, features of the digital application, and societal reception of Tafsir Al-Mishbah. It outlines three problem formulations: the digitalization process, features in the digital application, and reception within the digitization phenomenon. To address these formulations, a qualitative netnographic research method was employed. Data were collected through observation and documentation, primarily from video recordings on the Quraish Shihab YouTube channel, which provides insights into the digitization process and various versions of Tafsir Al-Mishbah. The research concludes that digitalization serves as a means to transform Tafsir Al-Mishbah, enabling independent Qur’an study while maintaining ties with authoritative figures. It bridges innovations with limitations present in printed editions, catering to the public's needs. Furthermore, the digitization of Tafsir Al-Mishbah is closely tied to Quraish Shihab's interpretation of divine promises, as referenced in QS. al-Qamar [54]: 17, 22, 32, and 40. This study highlights the often-overlooked aspects of digitalization, showcasing its relationship with innovation, ideology, and public reception. It underscores that the transformation of religious texts, including the Qur’an and Tafsir, contributes to the discourse on the living Qur’an and living Tafsir.

A közösségi média hatása a magyar nők egészségtudatosságára

Online media marketing is getting greater influence on the daily life, on the consumer and purchasing habits and on our health consciousness. The main goal of the research is to explore what the Hungarian women associate with health-consciousness on different social platforms, how their consumer activity look like and what kind of special groups can be formed. First of all, the posts appearing on the topic of health-consciousness on different platforms were analysed through a netnographic research. Then, with the involvement of 409 women, the influencing factors were measured to the participants on these pages in terms of health consciousness via questionnaire survey. As a result, special consumer groups appearing in the social platform were quantified and recommendations were formulated for companies who base their marketing strategy on online arenas.

Enacting teacher emotion, agency, and professional identity: A netnography of a novice Chinese language teacher’s crisis teaching

This netnography explores how teacher agency, emotion regulation, and professional identity were enacted by a novice Chinese language teacher in response to emergency remote teaching (ERT) in Australia amid the global pandemic. Ecologically sound, netnography creates uncoerced spaces to allow participants to have their voices heard, thus enabling researchers to discover nuanced patterns linked to the social-emotional state and wellbeing of the community members, regarding fears, tensions, and resilience triggered by ERT. Multiple data sources were triangulated from the teacher’s reflection journal, digital teaching artifacts, debriefing sessions, interviews, and online questionnaire responses. Thematic analysis reveals teacher identity was re-envisioned through crisis teaching pedagogy and the regulation of negative emotions to facilitate agency, which reciprocally bolstered teacher identity. The findings also indicate teacher identity development is challenged and shaped by negotiating a new role in remote teaching, thus impacting pre-ERT identity. Hence, the emotion regulation trajectory of ERT can stimulate and encourage technology-enhanced professional learning as teacher agency and resilience reinforce a new identity reimagined as a capable online teacher. By situating novice teacher agency, emotion regulation, and emerging identity in crisis teaching, this netnographic research conceptualises how ERT presents not only challenges for novice teachers’ identity development and emotion, but also the sustainability and empowerment of online teaching and professional growth of impacted teachers of Asian languages.

On pfukwa/mhvuko and the Ndau Christian Dilemma: A Case of the United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ)

The article engages with the notion of pfukwa/mhvuko (avenging spirits) among the Ndau Christians using the case study of the United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ). The study was motivated by a recurring question among some members of UCCZ on the phenomenon of the avenging spirits and the plight of the Ndau Christians. The article argues that the Ndau Christian converts are not immune to the effects of the avenging spirits in the metaphysical spaces of the Ndau because of the elaborate notion of collective existence (unthu/ubuntu) that defines the Ndau identity. The article unpacks the notion of pfukwa/mhvuko and its embeddedness in the whole matrix of Ndauness that does not spare the converted Ndau. The article is both a theoretical and empirical qualitative phenomenological enquiry that employs the netnographic research design. It uses the UCCZ WhatsApp social media microblogging site Eya Eya Haiwa Haiwa, to gather data through seminar (group) presentations and discussions. The article utilizes discourse analysis to filter data. It also engages with available relevant literature on the subject. The article uses two theoretical frameworks of unthu/ubuntu, and Goffman’s back and front stage theory to traverse the pfukwa/mhvuko phenomenon among the Ndau. The findings are that the Ndau notion of pfukwa/mhvuko is an existential metaphysical reality among both the Ndau practitioners of indigenous spirituality and Ndau Christians. The study recommends an authentic dialogue between the two spiritualties to build a contextually relevant Christian doctrine of pfukwa/mhvuko. It also raises the challenges that may stifle progress on the recommended trajectory.

Gentrifying Yogyakarta through (online) culinary: Investigating youth practice and culinary space in @ke.jogja

Within contemporary contextualization, representation has transcended its traditional role as a mere reflection or symbol and has become a dynamic force that actively shapes and challenges material reality. This netnographic research outlines the dialogue between Instagram posts, as a contemporary mode of representation, and the construction of the material realm, as constituted by the youth demographic that predominantly engages with the social media platform. By examining the discursive investing framework, this research focuses on the use of Instagram by the popular culinary account @ke.jogja and its intersection with material development, specifically in the Yogyakarta region of Indonesia. Through Instagram's culinary posts, @ke.jogja is found to not only represent but also materially amplify the presence of youth-oriented culinary spaces, as it contributes significantly to the promotion and marketing of the aforementioned spaces. This symbolicto-material amplification emerges as a transformative force that significantly contributes to the phenomenon of culinary-based gentrification in the Yogyakarta region. The findings highlight the intricate relationship between Instagram culinary posts as symbolic and concrete material transformation in an urban landscape.

Social Media and the Fragmentation of Religious Authority among Muslims in Contemporary Indonesia

This study examines the massive use of social media, its role, and its influence on splitting religious authority among internal Muslims in contemporary Indonesia. There are two research questions raised in this study: how is the existence and reality of the popularity of Indonesian Muslims amid the rapid development of social media? How does religious authority within Indonesian Muslims experience fragmentation and the massive use of social media? This study is a netnographic research based on qualitative research. Two types and sources of data are used: primary data in the form of text, visual videos, and images obtained from several social media, especially Instagram and YouTube. In addition, there is also secondary data in the form of statistical data and literature. After analysing field data based on the perspective of Max Weber’s authority theory, this study found that the massive use of social media among Indonesian Muslims today has triggered the birth of various new religious realities, one of which is the division of religious authority. In Indonesia, this fragmentation is marked by the weakening of the existence and influence of earlier Islamic clergy groups and, simultaneously, the emergence of contemporary clergy members with stronger allure and influence. The latter are popular as millennial ustadz, have a populist style, and are known to be quite active in campaigning for religious activities on online-based social media channels.

Review analysis of islamic donation mobile applications: A study using netnographic methods

Technology development in this digital era facilitates all human activities. Likewise, the management of alms is mandatory because it is considered more practical. This study aims to identify and obtain qualitative insights into the satisfaction and dissatisfaction felt by users toward the application through reviews left using Netnographic Research Methods. This study took data from Google Play Store by collecting 854 reviews from 11 applications with specific criteria. The data collected were analyzed through grounded theory. From the analyzed data, positive reviews were obtained, with a percentage of 61% of users feeling satisfied, facilitated and considered valuable. While negative reviews, with a percentage of 10%, highlight system errors and slow responses. In general, these applications can cover all aspects of making ZIS payments. This study recommends ZIS application developers in the future pay attention to the smoothness and speed of the application system. In addition, it is recommended for application management to focus on making improvements to the system or its features. Future studies do not need to focus too much on analyzing zakat online. However, they are expected to more broadly analyze other Islamic donations to produce more extensive and complex research.

The use of dolphins at Melka Excelsior Dolphin and Wildlife Resort in Lovina, Bali, Indonesia: a study of visitor experiences and ethical implications through netnographic research

ABSTRACT The closure of Melka Excelsior Dolphin and Wildlife Resort in Lovina, Bali, in Indonesia was prompted by the confiscation of its dolphins and mounting pressure from animal welfare advocates, marking a pivotal moment in the discourse surrounding the use of dolphins in Indonesia’s hospitality and tourism industry. To gain insights into visitor experiences and perceptions during the resort’s operation, this netnographic study analyses 128 guest reviews from TripAdvisor. The findings underscore the significance of considering animal welfare and aligning with environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. In the context of responsible wildlife tourism, the study emphasises the urgent need for an ethical approach to animal treatment in the tourism and hospitality sector. The analysis reveals varying guest experiences, with some expressing satisfaction and delight with the dolphin encounters, while others voice genuine concern and reservations about the animals’ well-being, highlighting diverse perspectives on the use of dolphins. The study recommends prioritising animal welfare, raising awareness through education, supporting research and conservation initiatives, fostering stakeholder collaboration, and monitoring the impacts of tourism activities. By implementing these recommendations, the hospitality and tourism industry can cultivate a sustainable and responsible approach to dolphin-related tourism that prioritises the well-being of dolphins and advances conservation efforts, steering away from practices involving captivity.

Down the (digital) rabbit hole: Mapping and decolonizing Safavid women's imagery in digital museums

In this article, I trace Safavid paintings depicting women's imagery online and explore the possibility of digitally mapping Safavid (1501–1736) paintings featuring women on publicly accessible platforms. Along with the practice of online mapping that led me to digital museums, I investigated the descriptions presented on three digitized paintings on different platforms to address the questions, “Where and how can Safavid paintings be digitally encountered” and “In light of the theoretical developments in the scholarship on pre-modern discourses of Safavid gender and sexuality, how do the descriptions of Safavid paintings reflect gender discourses online?” By following Safavid paintings of women online and probing the textual descriptions attached to them, and using netnographic research methods to document my experience and encounter with the digitized Safavid paintings, I explore whether the online descriptions accompanying the images could contribute to the making of decolonial knowledge about non-Western gender discourses.

What can be learned about a positive relationship with food in food blogs?

Social media provide numerous platforms to build relationships with food. In this research, we focus on Finnish food bloggers with the purpose to analyze how the relationship with food appears in food blogs. To answer this question, we conducted a netnographic research by visiting food blogs. The analysis followed qualitative content analysis. The main categories of findings were food- and eating-related values, innovativeness and experimental approach, positive eating-related multi-sensory experiences and memories, and social elements of eating. The role of social media, for example in the form of food blogs, can have a meaningful role in the socialization into the modern eating culture.

Netnographic research ethics in applied linguistics: A systematic review of data collection and reporting practices

Ethnography – a methodological staple of applied linguistics research since the field's inception – has well-established ethical guidelines. Although ethnographic research has traditionally been subject to institutional ethics review board protocols, the expansion of ethnography into online spaces, which has been recharacterized as netnography, has presented novel ethical challenges (e.g., determining what constitutes ‘public’ versus ‘private’ data, protecting participants’ identities, and more). To better understand how researchers have handled such ethical challenges, this study systematically reviews the data collection and reporting practices of peer-reviewed netnographic research in applied linguistics. High-impact journals were searched using specific criteria, resulting in 60 studies published in 14 journals during the span of 2000–2022. These studies were coded to examine how common issues were handled, such as: gaining informed consent, obtaining permissions (from companies and their representatives to use data), and protecting participants’ identities. Data analyses revealed that, while such ethical issues are a consideration for many researchers, there is still ample room for improvement when it comes to ethical decision-making. Based on our review, in the discussion, we provide suggestions for those who intend to conduct netnographic research in the future.

The Importance of Social Media for People with Disabilities in Poland During the COVID-19 Epidemic

People with disabilities during the COVID-19 epidemic were particularly vulnerable to information exclusion, e.g. press conferences were not translated into PJM, there was no information in plain language, etc. In addition, restrictions were introduced on social contacts and the possibility of carrying out previous activities and using the support of volunteers or assistants. This made social media an important tool during the COVID-19 pandemic for people with disabilities as it often provided a way to connect with a wider community, maintain social relationships, and obtain information about the epidemic and the restrictions being imposed. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the significance of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland from 2020 to 2021 for people with disabilities. This will be facilitated by netnographic research, which will be based on the analysis of content published in 10 Facebook groups for people with disabilities between March–April 2020 and December–February 2021.
 The results of the research indicate that social media played an important role for people with disabilities during the crisis situation of the pandemic. Analysis of the content of social media group profiles showed that they provide a space for seeking and exchanging information, sharing concerns, seeking support, and fighting for their rights by people with disabilities.

On Scent in Theatre Audience Research: Sensory Mining and Olfactory Archives

This article uses netnographic research methods, as a form of olfactory sensory mining, to investigate the smell-based experiences of audience members at Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More (2011). In doing so, it seeks to contribute to the field of theatre audience research, as well as intervening in archival questions surrounding the documentation of ephemeral, olfactory, experiences. It problematizes the supposedly ephemeral nature of scents in relation to the supposed ephemerality of the live performance experience and, thus, also extends research on Punchdrunk’s works by suggesting the potential the olfactory has for triggering the re-immersive experience. This article lays new groundwork for how theatre researchers can study the relationship between the live-performance experience and smell, as well as signalling the need for further olfactory sensory mining in the field of audience studies.

Netnography and volunteer tourism: Critical reflections on conducting online research during a global pandemic

COVID-19 curtailed a significant amount of research in the field, forcing social scientists to consider the future of fieldwork. Netnography seems to offer a covid-resistant alternative to traditional fieldwork methods. This paper expands knowledge of the netnographic approach, focusing on a study of spirituality in international volunteer tourists' experiences. It explores the potential of netnography as a research tool within the context of ongoing concerns around the viability and sustainability of physically travelling to collect data. As such, this paper presents a critical, reflective analysis of the main author's experience in conducting netnographic research during the pandemic, presenting the challenges and limitations, as well as the benefits of the method.