RT Journal Article
A1 Muhammad Rizky
A1 Edoardo Irfan
T1 Urban workers’ experiences in consuming C-Drama: An interpretative phenomenological analysis approach
JF Priviet Social Sciences Journal
YR 2026
VO 6
IS 4
SP 326-338
DO 10.55942/pssj.v6i4.1729
AB The rise of Chinese micro-dramas on digital streaming platforms has created a genuinely new mode of urban media consumption—one that has barely been studied. This paper examines how office workers in Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek) experience consuming Chinese micro-dramas, paying particular attention to how this format functions as a tool for escapism, emotional regulation, and identity negotiation within demanding professional routines. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) design, data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with two purposively selected participants: an HR Generalist and an Accounting Assistant Manager, both active consumers of micro-drama content on platforms including TikTok, WeTV, and YouTube Shorts. Analysis produced four superordinate themes: (1) Motivational Escapism and Emotional Regulation, in which micro-dramas operate as psychological safe spaces through predictable, wish-fulfilling narratives; (2) Interstitial Consumption Patterns, reflecting a multi-platform viewing practice that slots viewing into the fragmented gaps of urban professional schedules; (3) Resonance of Materialism and Career Themes, in which the dominant visual economy of wealth and instant social mobility functions as aspirational compensation for rigid corporate realities; and (4) Identity Tensions and Critical Reflection, revealing productive tensions between entertainment satisfaction, productivity guilt, and gender-based social barriers to disclosure. The findings extend the growing literature on transnational media reception in Southeast Asia and carry practical implications for digital media industry localization strategies.
 
K1 Chinese micro-drama, interpretative phenomenological analysis, escapism, multi-platform viewing, urban workers, media consumption, Indonesia
LK https://journal.privietlab.org/index.php/PSSJ/article/view/1729
ER