PEMAKNAAN TINDAKAN UNFOLLOW SEBAGAI SIMBOL PERUBAHAN HUBUNGAN PERTEMANAN DI MEDIA SOSIAL INSTAGRAM (STUDI KASUS PADA MAHASISWA PRODI ILMU KOMUNIKASI UNIVERSITAS MUHAMMADIYAH JEMBER ANGKATAN 2022–2025)

Abstract

The development of social media has changed the way individuals build and maintain friendships, which are no longer established solely through face-to-face interactions but also through various forms of digital communication on Instagram. One example is the unfollow feature, which is no longer understood merely as a feature that allows users to stop following another account, but is also interpreted as a symbol representing changes in friendships. This study aims to analyze how students of the Communication Studies Program at Universitas Muhammadiyah Jember interpret the unfollow action as a symbol of changes in friendships on Instagram. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach using George Herbert Mead's symbolic interactionism perspective. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, non-participant observation, and documentation involving ten informants selected through purposive sampling. The findings indicate that the unfollow action is interpreted as a symbol of maintaining distance, establishing personal boundaries, changes in relational closeness, and the end of friendship (mind). In addition, it is used as a way to maintain personal comfort and manage emotions in friendships on social media (self). These meanings are also shaped by the social environment, influencing how students understand and experience friendships both on social media and in everyday life (society). This study concludes that unfollow has evolved into a form of digital nonverbal communication whose meaning is constructed through individual experiences, social interactions, and interpersonal relationships.