Framing Educational Issues of Students on TikTok: A Critical Discourse Analysis Based on Norman Fairclough’s Framework
Keywords:
Critical Discourse Analysis, Educational Discourse, Norman Fairclough, TikTokAbstract
The productive-age generation, particularly Millennials and Gen Alpha, leverages social media as a discursive space to shape and circulate discourse. Beyond acting as passive consumers, they serve as active information producers, including within the realm of educational issues. This study aims to analyze how college students’ educational discourse was framed on TikTok from 2025 to 2026. Data were drawn from nine TikTok accounts that actively address educational issues in Indonesia, with content selected randomly from the observed profiles. Employing a qualitative methodology grounded in Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework, data were collected using a selective note-taking technique across various posts related to education. The findings reveal that educational framing on TikTok portrays higher education as excessively costly, offering no guarantee for future success, and triggering regret among the younger generation. At the textual level, the discourse reflects an underlying ideology that fosters negative perceptions of education and constructs a generational identity characterized by a waning interest in pursuing university degrees. At the level of discursive practice, this framing is reinforced by real-world social conditions, including escalating tuition fees and academic stressors driven by family expectations, mental pressure, and final thesis completion. Furthermore, at the sociocultural level, the educational discourse intersects with broader social phenomena such as the emerging use of the lexeme “unalive” and the rise of quarter-life crisis anxieties highlighting the intricate connection between educational experiences and the broader social dynamics of today’s youth.
References
Afra, N., Yunus, M. R., Abd. Malik, M., Dewi, K., Reswari, A., Aina, F. M., Pattipeilohy, P., Satria, R., Ishaac, M., Trialupi, R. I., Farhah, E., Rajagukguk, K. P., Taufik, I., Amalia, E., Mas’ud, B., Gumati, R. W., Meisuri, Afendi, A. R., Cindy, A. H., … Ilham. (2025). Mewujudkan generasi emas 2045 melalui pendidikan. Yayasan Penerbit Muhammad Zaini.
Andina, E. (2025). Akses dan partisipasi pendidikan tinggi yang lebih inklusif. Info Singkat: Analisis Strategis terhadap Isu Aktual, 17(4), 1–5.
Ansar, & Ansar, F. A. (2026). Metode penelitian kualitatif: Teori dan praktik. Terbit Raja Buku.
Djarijah. (2023). Fenomena media sosial TikTok dan perubahan perilaku siswa madrasah ibtidaiyah. Hikam Media Utama.
Faizah, E. N., Setyawulan, E. S., Kurniadin, D., Kanto, R. D. S. W., & Nugraha, M. S. (2025). Manajemen sumber daya manusia: Strategi meningkatkan produktivitas. Yayasan Putra Adi Dharma.
Hamidah, N., Harjito, & Djatun, R. (2016). Relasi antara pendidikan karakter dan penanaman sikap peduli pada anak. TEKS: Jurnal Penelitian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 1(1), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.26877/teks.v1i1.2751
Indriana, A., Patimang, E. N., Lewar, S. A., & Ramdhani, R. (2026). Analisis framing konten TikTok @reizukaari dalam membangun personal branding. TUTURAN: Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi, Sosial dan Humaniora, 4(2), 450–462. https://doi.org/10.47861/tuturan.v4i2.2550
Kompas. (2024, April 11). Biaya kuliah Fakultas Kedokteran PTN di Pulau Jawa lewat jalur mandiri. Kompas Data.
McMillan, J. (2023, July 14). Online, “unalive” means death or suicide. Experts say it might help kids discuss those things. AP News.
Melisa, R. S., & Yudhistira. (2025). Spektakel digital dan gimik politik Dedy Mulyadi dalam komunikasi politik. Jurnal Heritage, 13(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.35891/jyk0gv45
Naurah, N. Z., & Siregar, R. K. (2023). Wacana kesetaraan gender dalam keluarga pada film Nanti Kita Cerita tentang Hari Ini: Analisis wacana kritis Norman Fairclough. Jurnal Humaniora dan Ilmu Pendidikan (Jahidik), 3(1), 19–35. https://doi.org/10.35912/jahidik.v3i1.2233
Nasution, R. A. S. (2024). Analisis wacana kritis model Fairclough terhadap konten TikTok Pandawaragroup (Studi kasus pada konten tentang peduli lingkungan oleh Pandawaragroup dalam bentuk buku karya ilmiah). Telkom University.
Newport Institute. (2024, November 20). Depression in college students: New statistics and research. https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/depression-on-college-campuses/
Noor, Z. Z. (2020). Metodologi penelitian kualitatif dan kuantitatif: Petunjuk praktis untuk penyusunan skripsi, tesis, dan disertasi: Tahun 2015. Deepublish.
Prameswari, J. Y., & Susanti, D. I. (2021). Inovasi pembelajaran pada mata pelajaran tematik di sekolah dasar Islam terpadu pada masa pandemi Covid-19. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Pertemuan Ilmiah Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia (PIBSI), 43(1), 250–258. https://doi.org/10.24176/pibsi.v43i1.231
Rachmad, Y. E., Rahman, A., Judijanto, L., Pudjiarti, E. S., Runtunuwu, P. C. H., Lestari, N. E., Wulandari, D., Suhirman, L., Rahmawati, F. A., Mukhlis, I. R., Fatmah, F., Saktisyahputra, S., Purba, A. E., Nopiah, R., Winarni, A. T., Fanani, A. F., & Mintarsih. (2024). Integrasi metode kuantitatif dan kualitatif: Panduan praktis penelitian campuran. PT Green Pustaka Indonesia.
Ratih, K. W., Iswindari Winta, M. V., & Shinta, P. (2024). Memahami fenomena quarter life crisis pada generasi Z: Tantangan dan peluang. Jurnal Kesehatan Tambusai, 5(3), 8186–8193. https://doi.org/10.31004/jkt.v5i3.28221
Sari, W. P., Setyonegoro, A., & Priyanto. (2025). Analisis wacana kritis Norman Fairclough pada pemberitaan internasionalisasi bahasa Indonesia di media Antaranews.com. ISOLEK: Jurnal Pendidikan, Pengajaran, Bahasa, dan Sastra, 3(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.59638/isolek.v3i1.417
Serliyanti, Wulandari, P., Yunus, A. F., & Suriadi. (2026). Praktik diskursus generasi muda dalam fenomena #KaburAjaDulu di TikTok: Analisis wacana kritis Norman Fairclough. DEIKTIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 6(1), 1106–1116. https://doi.org/10.53769/deiktis.v6i1.3639
Shovmayanti, N. A. (2024). Generasi digital: Mengasah keterampilan komunikasi di era teknologi. CV Mega Press Nusantara.
Sumadyo, B., Prameswari, J. Y., & Anandari, E. (2025). Afektifisasi pendidikan karakter melalui materi pendidikan bahasa dan sastra Indonesia. EUNOIA (Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Indonesia), 5(2), 168–182. https://doi.org/10.30821/eunoia.v5i2.4843
Sumadyo, B., Susanti, D. I., & Prameswari, J. Y. (2024). The implementation of character education in Indonesian language learning for class 3C students at SDS IT Nurul Yaqin, East Jakarta. Scope: Journal of English Language Teaching, 8(2), 315–322. https://doi.org/10.30998/scope.v8i2.20908
Surahman, S., Zaiful, Z., Poigi, H. I., Sukmawati, S., Abu, A., Andri, M., Mashuri, M., Hamzah, E. I., Thamrin, T. S. R., Jumain, J., Firmansyah, A., & Rizal, R. (2025). Teori-teori sosial: Negara, politik lokal dan determinasi geografi. Yayasan Tri Edukasi Ilmiah.
Suryana, D. (2025). Meningkatkan pengaruh dan kesuksesan konten digital. Dayat Suryana Independent.
Ulfah, A. K., Razali, R., Rahman, H., Ghofur, A., Bukhory, U., Wahyuningrum, S. R., Yusup, M., Inderawati, R., & Muqoddam, F. (2022). Ragam analisis data penelitian: Sastra, riset dan pengembangan. IAIN Madura Press.
Zubairi. (2024). Ilmu pendidikan Islam. PT Adab Indonesia.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Elisa Anandari, Jatut Yoga Prameswari, Bambang Sumadyo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
