In terms of social media traffic, no city in the world can match Jakarta. So much so that Jakarta is arguably the social media capital of the world. (Don’t believe us? Check out this awesome visualization of the world’s social media use for proof )
So what is so interesting on social media that keeps our eyes fixated on the screens of our devices here in Jakarta?
Here are seven of the hottest Indonesian social media trending topics of 2014:
Law enforcer Briptu Eka Frestya the heartbreaker
Briptu Eka Frestya is a very photogenic (to say the least) police officer who often gives live traffic reports on television. Briptu Eka was probably the reason why Indonesian men are so infatuated with pretty women in uniform.
On May 3, 2014, however, Briptu Eka tied the knot with another police officer. Men all around the nation ‘mourned’, and the only way they could move on was to create memes.
Mile-high prayer on board Garuda Indonesia
Also in May, a Malaysian passenger on board a Garuda Indonesia flight posted the photo above, in which a flight attendant took time off her busy schedule to pray on an empty passenger seat.
The flight attendant received praise from all over social media, particularly by Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Actress Marshanda removes hijab
And on the opposite end of the religious piety spectrum, Indonesian actress Marshanda posted a photo of herself without a hijab on Instagram in July. Marshanda’s hijab-less photograph was met with scrutiny by Muslims, who criticized her for not being a good role model for the religion, especially since the photo was posted during the holy month of Ramadan.
Woman doesn’t give up her seat to a pregnant woman on the train, gets bullied on social media
Dinda was probably well within her right to refuse to give up her seat to a pregnant woman on the KRL Commuter Line (although that is a pretty a dick move), but she just had to post about her experience on Path. Dinda wrote about how much she hated that people were obliged to give up their seats to pregnant women, especially since she had to get up early so she could secure a seat on the train.
Her post quickly went viral, and men and women alike took to social media to condemn Dinda for her false sense of righteousness and lack of empathy.
Not long after she started being ‘bullied’ on social media, Dinda apologized for her insensitive post.
Florence slanders the city of Yogyakarta, gets sued
In August, Florence Sihombing, a graduate student at Yogyakarta’s prestigious Universitas Gajah Mada, was livid when she wasn’t allowed to queue in the line for cars at a petrol station as she was riding a motorcycle. Her reaction on social media, some would say, was unnecessarily over the top.
On Path, Florence wrote, “Jogja is poor, stupid, and uncivilized. Friends from Jakarta and Bandung, don’t ever live in Jogja.” Many in Yogyakarta saw this as libelous towards the whole city of Yogyakarta.
Not long after, Florence was suspended from her university for a semester and jailed for two days. Her case is still ongoing and she could face up to six years in prison as she violated the Information and Electronic Transactions Law (UU ITE).
Bekasi becomes the butt of a social media meme
Insults about Yogyakarta may be potentially criminal, but apparently not so for the city of Bekasi. In October, people all over social media (but probably mostly Jakartans) created and spread memes ridiculing Jakarta’s least-loved satellite city.
Bekasi’s hot, densely populated, and polluted. Out of those simple guidelines, funny and creative memes such as these popped up to poke fun at the city.
The upside about all of these memes is that it spurred Bekasi government officials to work harder to make the city a better place.
The Minister’s lovely daughter Nadine
Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Susi Pudjiastuti, is a rockstar in her own right. The smoking, tattooed former airline mogul has become a badass, ship-sinking minister of President Jokowi’s cabinet, as well as a darling on social media.
But it was her daughter, Nadine Kaiser, who, like our first entry, stole the hearts of Indonesian men all over the nation. Not much is known about the low profile Nadine, who is half-Swiss and half-Indonesian. But we know she was born in 1994 and she studied at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The brief but passionate love affair between Indonesian social media and Nadine ended when rumors emerged that she had a boyfriend.
