Contemporary Hangout Culture: A Social Interpretation of Urban Muslim Students in the Social Sphere of Pontianak

Abstract

This study focuses on the practice of contemporary nongkrong (hanging out) as a form of social interpretation of interaction spaces among Muslim urban students in Pontianak. In a rapidly shifting urban landscape, spaces such as coffee shops have evolved beyond their function as leisure venues, becoming arenas for symbolic exchange, identity formation, and the negotiation of Islamic values. The article argues that nongkrong, within the context of Muslim youth in urban settings, is a culturally significant social practice, intertwined with tensions between religiosity, digital culture, and symbolic class distinction. The integration of new media and digital platforms, including the growing reliance on algorithmic tools to complete academic work or to explore religious questions, reflects a broader epistemic crisis, as theorized by Tom Nichols in The Death of Expertise, where traditional sources of authority are increasingly displaced by immediate, accessible alternatives. Employing a qualitative methodology, this study utilizes participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, analyzed through Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical lens of habitus and social capital. The findings reveal that nongkrong serves as a dynamic medium through which Muslim urban students construct and perform their identities, manifested in style, discourse, and interaction with digital environments. The coffee shop emerges not as a neutral space, but as a symbolic site of negotiation where faith, culture, and lifestyle converge in everyday expression. The novelty of this research lies in its interpretative approach, which neither trivializes nongkrong as superficial leisure nor romanticizes it as pure freedom. Rather, it positions nongkrong as a sociocultural text rich with value configurations, power dynamics, and cultural shifts. The study’s significance lies in its contribution to understanding how urban Muslim youth navigate identity, piety, and community within the evolving terrain of city life, where religiosity is increasingly shaped not only in sacred spaces but also within the casual, symbol-laden ambiance of the urban periphery.