The Role of English in the Formation of Gen Z’s Identity in Digital Era

This qualitative study explored how Acehnese Gen Z used English on social media to construct and express their identity. Using digital ethnography, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten Acehnese Gen Z participants aged 20-24 years and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis. Four major themes emerged: Using English for self-expression and confidence, English as a symbol of modernity and aesthetic identity, code-mixing as a natural digital practice, and English as a marker of global identity. The findings revealed that English functioned as a symbolic resource through which Acehnese Gen Z performed multiple identity facets simultaneously local and global, traditional and modern. Participants strategically used English to access symbolic capital associated with modernity and global connectivity while maintaining Acehnese and Indonesian identities through code-mixing practices. Drawing on Hall (1996), Norton (2013), and Gee (2000), this study demonstrated that English use reflected identity investment processes where language choice was tied to social positioning and access to imagined global communities. These findings contribute to understanding how non-native English speakers in postcolonial contexts negotiate hybrid identities through multilingual digital practices.