How Does Mass Media Shape Social Reality? An Analysis of Communication Technology's Influence on the Construction of Public Opinion, Popular Culture, and Ideological Hegemony in the Digital Information Era

Abstract

In an era defined by the relentless proliferation of digital communication platforms, the question of how mass media constructs, reinforces, and contests social reality has never been more urgent. This study examines the mechanisms through which digital communication technologies shape public opinion formation, popular culture production, and ideological hegemony in contemporary Indonesian society. Employing a critical mixed-methods approach combining a quantitative survey of 428 digital media users across three metropolitan areas, critical discourse analysis of 240 news items from six major online platforms, and 32 in-depth interviews with media consumers and producers, the research investigates the processes through which mediated representations become socially accepted as reality. Drawing on constructionist epistemology, Gramsci's theory of hegemony, Hall's encoding/decoding model, and Bourdieu's field theory, the study demonstrates that digital media platforms function not merely as neutral conduits of information but as active sites of ideological production that systematically privilege certain interpretive frames, identities, and social hierarchies over others. Survey results reveal that 74.3% of respondents regard online news as their primary source of reality-definition, while discourse analysis exposes consistent patterns of frame alignment between political-economic elites and dominant media representations. The findings contribute to a sociologically grounded understanding of digital media power and propose critical media literacy as an essential democratic competency in the algorithmically curated information environment.

Keywords: mass media; social reality construction; public opinion; popular culture; ideological hegemony; digital communication; media literacy; Indonesiaa