Maritime Digital Communication on TikTok: A Semiotic Analysis of Maritime Values

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_67How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Maritime; TikTok; Semiotics; Cultural Values; Digital Transformation

Abstract

This study analyzes the representation of maritime values in TikTok content using Roland Barthes’ semiotic approach. As a maritime country, Indonesia has a strong national identity related to the sea, but in the digital era, this narrative faces challenges to remain relevant. Through a three-level analysis of meaning; denotation, connotation, and myth, 15 TikTok contents were selected purposively. The findings show that at the denotative level, maritime values appear through fishing activities, aestheticized maritime landscapes, and institutional symbols. The connotative level reveals the investment of values such as solidarity, modernity, and ecological responsibility into these signs. At the mythical level, these values are naturalized into dominant narratives such as “Indonesia as a nation of sailors” and “the blue economy as the only path to development.” This study concludes that TikTok functions as an active arena for the battle of meanings, where maritime values are not only displayed but also actively constructed and transformed. The logic of digital platforms, characterized by aestheticization, simplification, and emotionalization, reshapes traditional maritime representations into easily consumable sign commodities. However, this transformation is not entirely passive, as content creators demonstrate agency by utilizing the platform for various purposes, from tourism promotion to environmental advocacy. Thus, this study contributes to the understanding of the transformation and negotiation of cultural values in the era of digital platforms.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Nur Alfanisa
AU  - M. Iqbal Sultan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - Maritime Digital Communication on TikTok: A Semiotic Analysis of Maritime Values
BT  - Proceedings of the World Conference on Governance and Social Sciences 2025 (WCGSS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 977
EP  - 990
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_67
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_67
ID  - Alfanisa2026
ER  -