Individual freedom and netizen presence as others in TikTok social media creator content message delivery

Information and communication technology development represents a significant symbol of human civilization, giving rise to two realms of interaction: the physical world and cyberspace. As reality creators, humans interact with others and objects, striving to convey messages and achieve goals. Researchers raise issues regarding individual freedom and the presence of other people in conveying messages on social media TikTok. Based on some circumstances, the researcher sees a transition in the meaning of individual freedom and the presence of other people in the context of interaction on social media TikTok. The rationale for this study is that researchers use the perspective of freedom and the presence of other people, according to Jean-Paul Sartre, which is then studied through the theory of symbolic interactionism and self-presentation theory (Erving Goffman). The paradigm used in this study is the postmodern paradigm, in which researchers attempt to deconstruct the meaning of individual freedom and the presence of other people in conveying messages on social media TikTok. The key informants in the study were two content creators of the TikTok social media who were selected purposively. Findings reveal the necessity for TikTok creators to navigate individual freedom as agreed upon by users while managing the presence of others to achieve goals such as social capital, monetization, and social transformation.