DIGITAL IDENTITY TRANSFORMATION AND VISUAL PEDAGOGY: AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF INSTAGRAM'S USE AS A PSYCHOSOCIAL LEARNING ECOSYSTEM AT TANJUNG BATU STATE HIGH SCHOOL 1

Abstract

Amidst the wave of digital disruption that marks the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the transition to Society 5.0, the global education paradigm is undergoing a fundamental reconfiguration. The ontological boundaries between physical classroom spaces and virtual social media spaces are becoming increasingly blurred, creating a hybrid learning environment that demands radical pedagogical adaptation. This study aims to explore its existential role as a “digital canvas” in the formation of adolescents' psychosocial identity, as mapped out in Erik Erikson's developmental theory framework. Through a rigorous qualitative approach with an instrumental case study design, this report delves into the dynamics of interaction between students, teachers, and social media algorithms. Field findings reveal that Instagram functions as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it acts as an enabler of creativity and collaboration through the Student-Generated Content (SGC) mechanism, allowing students to actualize themselves and develop critical visual literacy competencies. On the other hand, this integration triggers significant social anxiety due to the phenomenon of context collapse—a situation where traditional audience segregation (teachers, peers, family) collapses into a single monitoring entity, creating intense performative pressure for students. This analysis also highlights how gender and digital literacy background influence students' self-presentation strategies in the digital public sphere.

Keywords: Social Media, Instagram, Self-Identity, SMA N 1 Tanjung Batu