AKTIVITAS LARI SEBAGAI PRAKTIK REPRESENTASI DIRI DI MEDIA SOSIAL INSTAGRAM: ANALISIS FENOMENA FLEXING DALAM PEMBENTUKAN IDENTITAS DIRI PADA GENERASI Z

Abstract

Running, once considered a private physical activity, is now documented and shared on social media, making it a space for Generation Z to present themselves. This study aims to describe the forms and patterns of self representation through running activities on Instagram, to analyze the flexing that emerges, and to examine its role in the formation of runner identity. The study is important because research on flexing in Indonesia focuses on material symbols, while digital sports research remains centered on tracking applications and foreign contexts. The study employs a constructivist paradigm with a descriptive qualitative approach. Six informants aged 20 to 24 years were purposively selected from the Semesterun running community in Semarang or among independent runners. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, digital observation, and visual documentation, then analyzed thematically and validated through technique and source triangulation. The theoretical framework combines dramaturgy and social identity theory. The findings show that running representation is deliberately constructed through pace and distance data, visual aesthetics, and the choice of Instagram features as a form of impression management. Flexing is interpreted diversely, ranging from open acknowledgment to rejection of the label, so it is better understood as a spectrum, while personal best achievements are the moments most worth sharing. Runner identity forms dynamically through initial motivation, labeling by the social environment reported by informants, and interaction within the community. These findings indicate that flexing can be based on nonmaterial achievement and that runner identity is not determined by individual intention alone.