Chinese Indonesian Youth National Identity: Description and Construction

This study shows the national identity of Chinese Indonesian youth and in ways, it was constructed. The significance of this research was to minimize the stigma that Chinese Indonesian youth do not love Indonesia and do not feel as a part of Indonesia because they are considered immigrants. While Chinese Indonesian youth is actually a generation born and raised in Indonesia, by parents who were also born and raised in Indonesia, however, there is still a negative view that they are not part of Indonesia. The approach used a qualitative method using thematic analysis to analyze the data. This study used 20 participants from Chinese Indonesian youth, aged 19 to 22 years old, who are studying at Petra Christian University, Surabaya, Indonesia. The outcomes exhibited that all participants had a national identity; none of them had a transnational identity. Their national identity came mainly from their schools and parents. Meanwhile, social media did not bring good influence, indeed it made them embarrassed to see the behavior of Indonesian netizens on social media. Additionally, friends, and religious communities did not significantly affect their national identity. This study concludes the importance of socializing national insight in a way that is appropriate for generations of Chinese Indonesian youth. In addition, it is also necessary to socialize Chinese Indonesian who have a strong national identity in order to provide positive perspectives for non-Chinese ethnicities.