Public Perception on the Potential of Radicalism: A Surveyon the Social Media Behavior of the Jakarta Community During the Pandemic

Abstract

This study aims to measure how the relationship between community digital behavior and the potential for radicalism which can result in religious violent acts, especially during the outbreak of Pandemic Covid 19. This study uses a quantitative approach which makes the questionnaire as an interview tool to explain the relationship between the dependent variable and independent variables in conducting hypothesis testing. The sampling method uses Multistage Random Sampling, with the distribution of certain community characteristics. The findings of this study indicate that the radicalism potential index in Jakarta reaches 16.1. The attitude dimension has a higher value (32.8) than the understanding dimension (12.4), meaning that the number of people who do not understand the issue of radicalism or simply follow media trends is higher. The potential for radicalism is higher among women, generation Z as well as those who are active in spreading religious content on the internet. The index of potential for radicalism tends to be higher for those who are exclusivists.