Digital Piety among Generation Z: Representing Religious Identity through Instagram Visual Communication
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61987/jsse.v4i3.3101Keywords:
Generation Z, Digital Piety, Instagram , Islamic CommunicationAbstract
Social media has emerged as a significant digital space where Generation Z constructs, expresses, and negotiates religious identity through visual and audiovisual practices. The growing presence of religious content on Instagram highlights the need to understand how digital platforms shape contemporary forms of piety beyond traditional religious spaces. This study examines the construction of Generation Z piety in Instagram religious content using John Fiske’s semiotic framework. Employing a qualitative descriptive case study approach, this research analyzed four Instagram Reels uploaded by @naisaalifiayuriza through observation, content analysis, and interviews with selected viewers. The findings reveal three interconnected patterns of digital piety construction: modest appearance and embodied expressions of religiosity, direct visual communication of religious messages, and religious self-reflection as a form of digital piety. The analysis shows that clothing, facial expressions, gestures, camera framing, narration, subtitles, Arabic script, and reflective messages collectively construct meaning at the levels of reality, representation, and ideology. This study contributes to a multilayered understanding of digital piety as an embodied, communicative, and reflective practice. The implications suggest that contemporary digital da’wah should integrate authentic visual representation with meaningful religious reflection to engage younger audiences effectively.
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