Jurnal Pendidikan Sosial dan Konseling
Vol. 3 No. 4 (2026): Januari - Maret

Identity Crisis in the Social Media Era: A Dialogue between Existential Philosophy and Psychology

Asila, Muhamad Barqi (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
25 Mar 2026

Abstract

Social media has fundamentally changed the landscape of human interaction, bringing significant impacts to self-identity construction in the twenty-first century. This article aims to analyze the identity crisis in the social media era through a comprehensive dialogue between psychological and existential philosophical perspectives. While existing literature predominantly focuses on the empirical correlations between screen time and mental health, there remains a significant gap in understanding the ontological shifts occurring within the digital self. The method used is library research with a qualitative approach, utilizing hermeneutical phenomenology to interpret classical existential texts alongside contemporary psychological data. The results show that psychologically, social media triggers social comparison, anxiety, and self-fragmentation due to dependence on external validation mechanisms embedded in platform architectures. Philosophically, this phenomenon is read as a profound loss of authenticity, alienation, and conditions of bad faith as conceptualized by Sartre, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard. The novelty of this research lies in its synthesis of clinical psychological symptoms with ontological structures, proposing an "Existential-Digital Framework" for understanding identity. The dialogue between these two disciplines yields a synthesis that identity recovery requires existential awareness to take responsibility for one's freedom amidst digital algorithms. Furthermore, this paper offers practical implications for education, therapy, and policy-making to foster authentic digital living.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

jpdsk

Publisher

Subject

Arts Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

urnal Pendidikan Sosial dan Konseling (JPDSK) merupakan wadah bagi para peneliti untuk mengembangkan kompetensinya dalam bidang penelitian dan pengabdian kepada masyarakat. Adapun scope jurnal ini berkaitan dengan pendidikan, sosial sains dan konseling. Jurnal ini terbit empat kali dalam setahun, ...