PARADOKS KOMUNIKASI DIGITAL: ANALISIS FENOMENOLOGI ALFRED SCHUTZ TERHADAP MENURUNNYA KOMUNIKASI LANGSUNG

Abstract

The development of information technology has created a disruption in social interaction patterns, giving rise to a paradox where humans are increasingly connected digitally but alienated physically. This study aims to analyze the phenomenon of the declining intensity of direct (face-to-face) communication among students of the Institut Ummul Quro Al-Islami (IUQI) Bogor through the analytical lens of Alfred Schutz's phenomenology. Using a qualitative approach and phenomenological methods, data were collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation. The results reveal that the shift in the communication medium of IUQI Bogor students is based on two main motives of Schutz. The 'because motive' includes social anxiety in face-to-face interactions, post-pandemic habits, and time efficiency. Meanwhile, the 'in order to motive' includes the desire to control self-image (impression management), avoid direct conflict, and expand networks without spatial limitations. This study concludes that digital communication for IUQI students is not just a tool, but has become a new "life-world" (lebenswelt) that reconstructs the meaning of silaturahmi, raising an anomaly between their identity as students of an Islamic institution and the practice of digital individualism