PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Media Governance and the Public Sphere
This article is part of the Research TopicNavigating the Hypermedia Landscape: Political, Cultural, and Social TransformationsView all 5 articles
Digital Cognitive Democracy and the Public Sphere in Indonesia's Electoral Politics
Provisionally accepted
- 1Telkom University, Bandung, Indonesia
- 2Digital Culture and New Media Studies Laboratory, Bandung, Indonesia
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This article presents a theory-informed analytical perspective, with structured empirical anchoring in secondary data and documented election-cycle evidence (2019 and 2024) from the Indonesian case. It argues that social media platforms have created new arenas of political communication where citizens engage directly with leaders, share perspectives, and mobilize around issues. While these developments expand participation, they expose democracy to challenges such as disinformation, polarization, and unequal access. The discussion is anchored in three main perspectives. First, the public sphere emphasizes the importance of open, rational dialogue, highlighting the opportunities and risks of online political discourse. Second, the network society framework explains how digital connectivity empowers civic actors and enables manipulation and echo chambers. Third, the emerging concept of digital cognitive democracy, or d-cognocracy, points toward innovative models where technology enhances deliberation, knowledge-sharing, and policy decision-making.
Keywords: algorithm, civic actors, deliberative democracy, digital cognitive democracy, Digital connectivity, Network Society, political communication, Public sphere
Received: 03 Sep 2025; Accepted: 28 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Nugroho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Catur Nugroho
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