Digital Detox melalui Menonaktifkan Akun Instagram sebagai Strategi Coping Mahasiswa Tingkat Akhir (Studi Fenomenologis pada Mahasiswa yang Menghadapi Burnout Akademik)

Abstract

The development of social media has made Instagram one of the most widely used platforms among university students. Amid its extensive use, a growing phenomenon has emerged in which final-year students choose to deactivate their Instagram accounts during the process of completing their undergraduate thesis. This phenomenon is noteworthy as it reflects students’ efforts to cope with academic pressures and digital social stressors that may contribute to academic burnout. This study aims to explore the phenomenon of deactivating Instagram accounts as a coping strategy employed by final year students in dealing with academic burnout. The study adopted a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design. Informants were selected using a snowball sampling technique, and data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. The findings reveal that academic burnout experienced by the informants was characterized by emotional exhaustion, decreased motivation, and feelings of incompetence in completing their thesis. Instagram further exacerbated these conditions through social comparison and excessive scrolling behavior. Deactivating Instagram was employed as a coping strategy to reduce digital social pressure, improve academic focus, and restore psychosocial well-being. This action was perceived as a form of self-care, self-regulation, and an effort to maintain a balance between academic demands and social life.