INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SERVICE AND
RESEARCH |
Puri Bestari Mardani, Maria Febiana Christanti, Irpan Ripa�i Sutowo
Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Pembangunan
Nasional Veteran Jakarta, Indonesia�
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Covid 19 virus still exists. However, social distancing has begun to be
less stringent in several countries, including Indonesia. One of the reasons is
to revive the economy that is starting to weaken. It brings the Indonesian
Government to followed the WHO direction to implement New Normal. Various
information about New Normal is starting to spread through many media channels,
one of them is the Instagram account of @whoindonesia. Many comments from the
account followers filled the comment box and not al ofl
them were positive. This study aims to map various responses through the
content analysis method. The purpose is to find out the netizens� perception of
the New Normal. If the netizens understanding is different or not in accordance
with the objective of The New Normal policy, then this policy might have a risk
in increasing the covid-19. The result of this study is to provide an overview
to policymakers about the characteristics of the audience they face in order to
be able to determine the right communication strategy in reaching and providing
understanding to them.
Keywords: content analisis; Instagram;
WHO Indonesia; comment; new normal
Received 20
October 2021, Revised 9 November 2021, Accepted 10 November 2021
INTRODUCTION
Coexist with coronavirus, is an exclamation to
persuade people to stay productive amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the
Covid-19 epidemic is still ongoing, social distancing has begun to be less
stringent in several countries, including Indonesia. During the society�s
saturation due to lockdown policy and the sign of economic recession, the idea
to coexist with coronavirus emerged. At the end of April 2020, WHO initiated
the idea of New Normal. This idea emerged as a form of transition to return to
the normal post-pandemic life�
(WHO Media Briefing, April 22nd, 2020). One of the reasons to
implement this idea is to revive the economy that began to decline. In
Indonesia, the new normal start to be implemented in mid-June 2020. This policy
started with President Jokosi�s statement to prepare
to coexist with Covid-19.� (Ihsanuddin,
2020).
�� The need
to normalize life through functioning social and economic activities stems from
fears of recession due to that pandemic has almost completely stopped economic
activities. The world is stuck in two currents of attraction that attract each
other: economy versus health (Mas�udi 2013). The tug of war between economic
interests and health has been going on since the Covid-19 outbreaks. The
choices occur to be zero-sum, involving two conflicting interests and mutually
trying to get rid of each other (Lin & Meissner, 2020). It
is undeniable that this epidemic has made various changes in many life sectors.
There are changes in the life of the society that
occurs due to Covid-19. This change is an attempt to survive and to adapt
during the pandemic. These efforts include the lockdown implementation, social
distancing, work from home mechanisms, distance learning, and other adjustments
that later on will become new habits. This new habit leads to a new normal way
of life.
The WHO�s New Normal refers to the need in
designing institutionalize new protocols. This protocol is based on the health
standards needed during the transition period before economic and social
activities can function once again. Protocols related to lifestyles that can
prevent Covid-19 are the requirements that need to be implemented by every
individual. This new normal emerged as a topic that is often discussed by the
public, either directly or through digital media.
The terminologi of New
Normal itself has been mushrooming as a topic discussed in social media. This
kind of information began to spread through various media channels, one of
which is the @whoindonesia Instagram account. WHO or World Health Organization
is one of the United Nations agencies that act as the international public
health coordinator. This prestigious international
organization is avowed by Indonesian society. It is because WHO is a trusted
organization that has helped the world in solving health problems, including in
Indonesia.
WHO Indonesia uses many kinds of social media to
convey information, one of which is Instagram. Reporting from
databoks.katadata.co.id, 40% of the total Indonesian population (266.91 million
people at the beginning of 2020) are internet literate, and they were also
active in accessing the internet. Furthermore, based on infographic data, the
number of Instagram application users in Indonesia reaches up to 80% of the
total Indonesian population. This makes Instagram the fourth most used social
media following Youtube, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
Instagram @whoindonesia is used as a channel to post the new normal policy.
This post received various responses that appeared in the comment box of this
Instagram account. Although WHO is a world prestigious organization, they still
face negative comments from the information they have posted. Such as
information about the new normal that they posted received many negative
comments.
Picture 1 Information and
Comments about New Normal On @whoindonesia Instagram Account
Information about the new normal uploaded on the
@whoindonesia account page in July 2020. It received hundreds of comments from
its followers. It can be seen that the comments continued to grow over the
weeks, and also almost all of the comments were negative. @whoindonesia
Instagram followers no longer see WHO Indonesia as a reliable organization.
These negatives comment keeping popping up even though the information content
posted by @whoindonesia was informative and has a good intention, which is to
alert the public.
It can be seen that there is a difference in understanding
between the @whoindonesia purpose and the netizens� perception. If the
audiences� perception is different from the @whoindonesia intention about the
new normal, it may bring the risk of increasing the spread of the coronavirus.
Providing understanding conveyed through media can be an interesting discourse.
Social media as a medium of contemporary communication has the power to
influence opinion and to give understanding about the current viral issue (Ardianto, 2011). The audience can construct new meaning
according to the content of the text message conveyed.
This study aims to gain various perceptions from audience
responses through the content analysis method. The purpose of this study is to
find out the understanding of the new normal. The result of this study is to
provide an overview to policymakers about the characteristics of their
audience, to then be able to determine the right communication strategy to
reach and give them a better understanding. Based on the introduction above,
the researchers examine the perception of @whoindonesia followers toward the
New Normal that is analyzed by mapping various responses through content
analysis methods.
METHOD
This study uses a constructivist interpretive paradigm. In
the context of social research, this paradigm is used to interpret the way
audiences construct life and the meanings they give (Ardianto,
2011).
It follows the purpose of this study, which is to find out how the audience
interprets the term New Normal, through their responses on social media. The
research approach used is qualitative because the researcher aims to gain an
understanding of the meaning that emerges as a response from @whoindonesia's IG
followers. The type of research that will be conducted is descriptive research.
According to (Sugiyono, 2010),
descriptive research is research conducted to determine the value of
independent variables, both one variable without making comparisons, or
connecting with other variables.
Audience Reception Theory or Reception theory
emphasizes the role of the message recipient and not the message sender.
Meaning is not attached to the text, but it is formed by the relationship
between the text and the text reader. In this theory, the audiences are
positioned as parties who have the power to create text meaning, and also act
following with the meaning they create upon the text message itself (Aryani, 2006).
Reception Theory by Stuart Hall highlights the communication process that
includes complex encoding and decoding. It is not a linear process. This theory
suggest that recipients are not passive but active in reproducing new
definitions from the text conveyed by the text sender. Text recipients act as
producers of means. This situation makes the message is not always the same
between the message sender and recipient. The meaning of the message can be
interpreted differently by the recipient during the meaning reproduction
process.
The focus in this theory lies in the decoding
process that includes interpretation and meaning reproduction. In this theory
message and meaning is the main object of attention at every stage of the
process. Hall introduced the term encoding-decoding to show that meanings
constructed by the media are not always interpreted the same way by the
audience.
Figure 2.1 Suart Hall Meaning Circulation Diagram
Hall
developed a linear communication process (sender � message � receiver). Hall
states propose four stages in the communication process which are �production,
circulation, use (which here he call distribution or consumption), and
reproduction (Sapuvelda, 2021). Interpreting Hall�s
concept, During adds that every stage affect the next,
and in the end, the message meaning will be implicit until the last production
stage. Each step is independent because it can be analyzed separately.
The
process of encoding includes a message or information developing process that
is expected by the sender. In communicating, word choice significantly affects
the effectiveness of conveying meaning. Communication will run smoothly if there
are similarities in the meaning between the sender and the recipient. The
delivery of meaning depends on the ability of the message senders to understand
their recipients. If the message recipient is unable to understand the meaning
conveyed by the message sender, there will be different perceptions that cause
ineffective communication. Furthermore, the choice of media, word, tone, time,
and many other choices determine the effectiveness of the encoding process (DuBrin, 2011).
Even
though the message sender tries to get their message meaning conveyed, the
message recipient undergoes a decoding process that can make different meanings
among them. This difference is affected by many factors like perceptions,
thoughts, and past experiences. Thus, Hall states that encoding and decoding
have an asymmetrical structure. The symmetrical degree shows a level of
understanding and misunderstanding in the message exchange process (Ott
& Mack, 2020).
WHO�s
New Normal as a joke
����������� The comments are seen in the WHO New Normal's
post mostly contain jokes. These jokes were of many types which are humor,
satire, and sarcasm. Few jokes that are seen in the comment on WHO�s New Normal
posts are:
�what
a funny jokes�,
�makes
me wanna laugh, imagining how an online motorcycle transportation
put the passenger in a distance of 1 meter?�
�Why don�t the regulation makes it 10-meter distance instead of only 1 meter, so
people on the market will shout at each other�.
�I was eating meatballs wih a lot chilli sauce. So my nose are running, am I infected with the Corona virus?
�shopping
in the market with 1-meter social distancing? What a joke!�����
�Yesterday I trip over and my
foot got hurt, am I�
corona positive?�
The
post by WHO Indonesia regarding the New Normal urges us to maintain a minimum
distance of one meter and stay alert to the early symptoms of the corona.
Netizen makes a joke about it. The netizens find the act of keeping a one-meter
distance funny because it reflects everyday life. Like when shopping in a busy
market or when using a motorcycle taxi transportation service, this is
impossible to do with a distance of 1 meter.
�� Furthermore, there were jokes on the alerts
about corona symptoms. The main symptoms of corona are coughing and shortness
of breath used as a joke if other triggers cause symptoms such as corona like
eating spicy food or crying in pain. These kinds of jokes show that netizens do
not take the WHO Indonesia's New Normal recommendation seriously. There is a
difference in meaning between the sender of the message and the recipient of
the message. The message sender is serious and urges the audience to start life
with the provisions of the new normal, but the message recipient interprets the
message as something that is not serious gives rise to a new meaning, namely a
joke.
In
addition, jokes about 1-meter social distancing and being aware of the symptoms
of the coronavirus, netizens also filled in funny satire comments. This satire
is addressed to WHO Indonesia since they ask the people to be alert regarding
coronavirus. Comments containing satire humor include:
�What is the point of using a
mask if we can avoid the virus by social distancing?�
�I want to go to the minimarket, do you guys need something? Since we are not
allowed to go �� out so let me bought it
for you and get corona positive myself�/
�looks
like it is a fake account, how stupid you are, WHO!�
�Corona does not infect the poor right? Since they can not
afford to pay for the expensive corona ���������� test.
�Today we get a penalty for a
hundred thousand rupiahs if we don�t wear a mask, tomorrow if we don�t put a
chip on our forehead, will they prisoner us?
The
innuendo by netizens refers to the previous WHO's Instagram post, the post
about using masks, and the penalty for those who do not wear masks. It makes
the public sneer at WHO because the post conveyed seems far-fetched and tends
to scare and not help. It causes a lack of public trust in the official WHO
Indonesia account, so the credibility of this account is questioned. In
addition, as a form of vigilance against the corona in the New Normal upload, WHO
urges you to stay alert to corona symptoms and limit yourself to minimize the
spread of the coronavirus. The audience interpreted this information
differently. They interpreted it as a form of limiting daily activities such as
shopping at the supermarket. That's why there is a satire at WHO Indonesia. If
you want to go shopping, it's better to have someone else do it for you so are
safe from the coronavirus.
Another
way to stay alert from the coronavirus is by taking a medical check directly
through a polymerase chain reaction test whenever you experience the symptom to
make it early detected. However, this kind of test requires a large sum of
money, so this facility is difficult to obtain for people with middle to lower
economic status. It triggers insinuations that the poor will not get the
coronavirus, because they can't afford the test. This satire leads to the
effect of the corona on the community's economy, that all forms of policy that
is applied in the community do not only look at the health side but also need
to look at the existing economic situation.
Furthermore,
other comments contain satire against WHO because they see WHO regulate the
lives of others with all the policies given. WHO Indonesia previously issue put
a mask on policy, and following that policies, there
are sanctions if they do not follow them, such as fines. It gives another
meaning to the WHO's appeal, namely WHO regulates how we live, including living
in a new normal way. Although WHO appealed in a positive tone to start life in a
new normal way, the public interpreted it in a negative tone that WHO Indonesia
was trying to regulate people's way of life. This meaning can be seen from the
satire comments of netizens who have a sense of humor.
Other
forms of humor or jokes that appear in comments on the WHO Indonesia website
contain skeptical views conveyed in a joking tone. The skeptical views
expressed by netizens arise because the credibility of WHO Indonesia is not
good in the eyes of netizens. Comments containing skeptical humor include
�All day long I put on a
mask, out of breath, flu, does that mean I infected coronavirus? Btw ������ tedros doesn�t
even wear a mask, so why the hell you told people to waear
it? #truenormal �
�Ooo
really�
�I work at one of the large
shopping mall in Jakarta, since June 15, 2021 there
were no social distancing. Especially on weekend, THE MALL IS STILL CROWDED. At
closing time is the � most crowded. We run
this mall together, no social distancing. AND I�AM FINE.�������
�Corona without mainstream
media is just a virus, it is not as dangerous. Another thing, I went to crowded
places and I never wear a mask, until now I�m fine. Wearing a mask too long
will make you run out of breathe, uncomfortable! True
normal not new normal�
�
Comments
with a skeptical view of the appeal from WHO Indonesia arise because the
audience sees the conditions in which they live are far different from the
picture of life presented by WHO Indonesia. It makes WHO Indonesia seem
excessive and tend to scare. There is a comment that intends to compare WHO
Indonesia with WHO International by carrying the name of the Director-General
of WHO Tedros. This skeptical comment compares the real-life that netizens live
by not following the advice of WHO Indonesia. One of the netizen comments said
that until now when the WHO recommendations for Indonesia are getting more and
more (use masks, keep your distance, be aware of corona symptoms, etc.) in this
case, he said that his condition is fine and he can still live well without
following WHO regulations in Indonesia.
Skeptic
comments by comparing real-life experiences sparked other comments also stated
that the corona is not a dangerous virus but the mainstream media that
continues to report on the coronavirus making the virus a deadly virus. This
comparison is expressed clearly by the expression 'true normal' as opposed to
the expression 'new normal'. Through the news of New Normal, the WHO Indonesia
Instagram account is seen as one of the mainstream media that has contributed
to making this coronavirus seem more dangerous than it is.
The
skeptical comments shades of dark humor show that there is a change in meaning
between the sender of the message and the recipient of the message. In this
case, the message recipients play an active role as producers of meaning. They
interpret that WHO Indonesia is excessive in conveying its policies. This
meaning arises because the public does not take for granted the message
delivered by WHO Indonesia, but they find that there are differences from the
actual reality.
There
are various kinds of jokes or funny comments submitted by netizens, ranging
from subtle jokes to dark humor. Often in these jokes, there is a curse
directed at WHO Indonesia. The words that often appear in these comments are
pretentious, stupid, idiot, and deceptive.
WHO�s
New Normal as a life controller
The
audience interpreted the call for New Normal as a way that WHO takes control of
the people's way of life. The audience felt that the WHO should not regulate
human life in such away. The policy is interpreted as something that people
must do, and if we don't do as were told in that policy there will be
sanctions. Various kinds of comments regarding this situation can be seen,
among others:
�Too much control, WHO.. you don�t even put food in our mouth!!!�
�Only God and myself can
control my health, and not WHO�
�My health is only me and God
can control not WHO�
�As long as corona exist in indonesia, i never wear a mask
until now ������ dan everyday i hangout at night, work until afternoon, the fact is i�am fine, and you know why? because i have my mind, my
thought that i�am �������� not
you dog�
The
comments above show that people feel that WHO Indonesia is too controlling
their lives. Unlike the previous one, the comments on this matter are brief and
sharp. It is seen from the use of capital letters and netizens do not hesitate
to swear by mentioning the word 'dog' in their comments. This comment shows
that the position of WHO is valued higher than the community, not as a
community institution. This negative view arises because WHO Indonesia tends to
rule rather than advise.
In
another comment, seeing the position of WHO Indonesia is rated higher than the
community, netizens compare it with God. God has the right to regulate the
lives of his servants because the life that humans live is a gift from God.
This is compared to WHO Indonesia, which seems to over-regulate human life
without the right to public life. WHO's an inability to regulate the lives of
others is also evident from the comments that WHO does not take people's lives.
Viewers feel they are living their own lives as well as supporting their own
lives, and therefore other people have no right to control the lives they live.
The
comments as a response toward the WHO New Normal policy post shows that there
is a different meaning between the sender and the recipient of the message. WHO
Indonesia advises people to start living life in a new way because the impact
of the coronavirus has not ended, but people interpret the message as an order.
The audience saw that WHO Indonesia ordered and did not recommend it because
they judged that WHO Indonesia's position was higher than the community.
Although this is not the true intention of WHO Indonesia, various factors cause
the message recipient to produce a new meaning that is much different from the
message sender.
WHO�s
New Normal as WHO�s Business
Uploads
about the New Normal life are also interpreted as a continuation of WHO's
business, this is due to the suspicion that WHO received a lot of funds due to
the covid 19 pandemic. Various negative prejudices emerged from netizens who
were conveyed through the comments feature of WHO Indonesia's New Normal
uploads. These comments include;
�@whoindonesia,what kind of institution is this? No
wonder USA leaves this institution. �� Because
you operate vaccine business #fckwho #Humanslivesmatters�
�Let me help you promote or
sell rapidtest @whoindonesia ,
but share the profit equally, ok!�
�Are there any jod vacancy in WHO?? I�m asking seriously����������
�I want to ask,
did you gain big salary in spreading covad-covid news
over and over again? �������� Layoffs and
significant income decrease does not exist in WHO
institution, right?
�Criminal wrapped in
government organization. Hope that people who work in WHO or those behind this
will be forgiven by God Almighty. Or just go to hell!
�����������
The
Covid-19 virus which it's origin is undiscovered has
given rise to various negative prejudices. One of them is the prejudice that
WHO Indonesia has greatly benefited from this virus. In the comments above, it
appears that this pandemic has become a business field for WHO Indonesia. Many
people's economies are getting worse due to this pandemic, including pay cuts
and layoffs however WHO Indonesia looks stable and is benefiting. It triggered
satirical comments asking for job vacancies at WHO Indonesia. In addition, WHO
Indonesia's New Normal post is seen as a business, not as a selfless appeal.
WHO
Indonesia received negative prejudice from netizens when they encourage the
public to live the New Normal way through social media posts.� The audience saw that WHO Indonesia had
another purpose in this action. The netizen suspected that WHO Indonesia runs a
business and takes advantage of the policies issued. WHO Indonesia encourages
people to start living the New Normal way by implementing vaccines and warning
to use masks. These activities were seen as WHO Indonesia's efforts to sell
vaccines and masks. So that the public sees that the necessary action is solely
for the benefit of WHO Indonesia and not in the interest of maintaining public
health. Another innuendo also appeared in the comments, where netizens
expressed their desire to cooperate with WHO Indonesia to sell masks.
Furthermore,
some comments declare WHO Indonesia as a criminal. This comment was for WHO as
an organizational unit and for everyone who works at WHO Indonesia. Besides
such comments, other comments appear in the form of insults. WHO Indonesia was
sworn to hell because of his actions that took advantage of the suffering of
the people.
Comments
about prejudice in the comments box toward The New Normal WHO Indonesia post
carry a new meaning. WHO Indonesia has good intentions in uploading a post for
the New Normal way of life, but this good intention is interpreted differently
by the public. The audience interprets this message by stating that WHO
Indonesia has hidden intentions in calling for a New Normal life. Through the
same information, the message recipient generates a new meaning that contrasts
with the original meaning intended by the message sender. The New Normal post
is interpreted by the community as an effort to make a profit from the vaccine
and mask business for WHO Indonesia.
CONCLUSION
From
the analysis, the researchers found different meanings between WHO Indonesia as
the message sender and the netizens as the message recipient toward the same
message. WHO Indonesia has uploaded a post to start living in the New Normal
(living side by side with the Covid-19 virus by maintaining distance and using
masks) to reduce the number of covid cases in Indonesia. It applied as a step
for people to be able to return to their daily activities during the covid 19
pandemic. Meanwhile, viewers who see the New Normal post by WHO Indonesia
reproduce a new meaning that is very different from the message sender's
meaning. The message recipient interprets this New Normal post by reproducing
various new meanings.
Researchers
mapped new meanings that appear as a response toward the new normal's post. These new meanings are; as a joke (light
humor, satire, and skepticism), as a life controller, and as a WHO Indonesia's
business. This new meaning is analyzed through the contents of netizen comments
on WHO Indonesia's New Normal post. Humorous comments are the type of comments
that appear the most in the comments column. In this
case, the serious tone conveyed by WHO Indonesia is interpreted as a joke. The
audience compares it to reality and thinks WHO Indonesia is too dramatic with
the actual situation. Therefore, netizens came up with the phrase 'real normal'
as opposed to 'new normal. The New Normal post raises the meaning of WHO
Indonesia as a regulator of people's lives. WHO urges the public to start
living the New Normal way, but the public interprets this encouragement as an order. If the recommendation was unimplemented, certain
sanctions will be imposed. If you don't follow their encouragement of wearing a
mask, you have to pay a fine. The last meaning that emerges is WHO Indonesia's
business. This meaning can be seen from the comments that contain various
negative prejudices against WHO Indonesia's motives for implementing the New
Normal. WHO Indonesia has good intentions in uploading the New Normal appeal,
but this good intention is interpreted as a hidden intention by netizens.
Netizens interpret WHO Indonesia's New Normal upload as an action to increase
their business profits. The business is allegedly the result of their policies
and appeals, such as selling masks or vaccines. The new meaning that appears is
very contrary to the original meaning conveyed by the message sender.
�� This study shows that netizens actively being
a meaning reproducer who reproduces the message delivered by the message
sender. It makes the meaning of a message is not always the same between the
sender and recipient of the message. In communicating, the choice of words
greatly affects the effectiveness of conveying meaning. Although the message
sender has tried to create the same meaning between the message sender and
recipient message, the recipient undergoes a decoding process that make
difference in meaning interpreting. This difference is influenced by various
factors such as perceptions, thoughts, and past experiences.
Based
on the research, the authors provide the following suggestions:
1. There
is a need for further research on the factors that influence netizens in
reproducing new meanings that are very different from the meanings expressed by
the message sender. There is also a need for further research about netizen
comments content on other social media accounts that discuss the same theme,
New Normal. It is important to understand various comments and new meanings
concretely.
2. It
is necessary to find an effective way to overcome the problem of changing
meaning which is very different from the initial meaning so that the delivery
of policies for the common interest can have maximum impact. The researcher
suggests exploring the factors that might cause the delivery of a policy to be
ineffective. There may be parties who feel aggrieved and fearful of the
policies presented, so WHO Indonesia needs to consider ways to convey
recommendations more effectively, such as using a more positive tone (positive
tone � not fear or orders, rewards, and no sanctions).
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