As we move further into 2026, popular videos in Indonesia are being generated by AI. Local startups have built video generators that specifically render Indonesian faces and landscapes (avoiding the "Western bias" of Midjourney).

We are seeing the rise of "Deepfake Pidato" (deepfake speeches) where creators make historical figures like Soekarno review modern smartphones. The line between history lesson and parody is now completely blurred.

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of AI-tool adoption in Asia. We are already seeing a rise in "Deepfake" comedy videos (where AI overlays celebrity faces onto mundane workers) and "Digital Humans" hosting news segments.

The next evolution of Indonesian entertainment and popular videos will likely involve interactive streaming. Imagine a sinetron where you vote on the ending via the Vidio app, or a TikTok live stream where a virtual avatar (VTuber Indonesian style) sings Dangdut in Javanese.

The driver of all this content is Generasi Muda (the young generation), but not exclusively.

Beyond pre-recorded clips lies the wild west of live streaming, primarily on platforms like Bigo Live and SHOPEE Live (integrated into the e-commerce giant).

Here, the line between entertainment, gambling, and parasocial relationship blurs. "Hosts" (mostly young women and men) sing, chat, eat, or sleep. Viewers send "gifts" (diamonds, cars, rockets) that translate into real money for the host.

This is a multi-billion dollar industry in Indonesia. It has created a new class of digital celebrities—the Streamer Seleb. However, it has also drawn criticism for encouraging reckless spending and promoting a transactional view of affection. Nonetheless, for millions of rural Indonesians, watching a live streamer in Jakarta or Medan is a window into a cosmopolitan life they cannot access otherwise.

If YouTube was the campfire for long-form stories, TikTok became the lightning bolt. The pandemic was the ignition. Locked down and bored, Indonesians—from Ibu-ibu (housewives) in Java to university students in Makassar—flocked to the 15-to-60-second format.

TikTok in Indonesia developed a unique sonic and visual culture:

Case Study: The Rise of "Local Horror" on Shorts. Horror is Indonesia's most reliable genre. On TikTok, creators like MiawAug and @simply.jeje turned urban legends (like the Kuntilanak or Genderuwo) into bite-sized found-footage scares. These videos are cheap to make (a phone, a dark alley, a mask) but generate billions of views. They succeeded because they tapped into genuine superstition—the belief in ghibah (the unseen) is a daily reality for many Indonesians.

To understand the popularity of Indonesian videos, one must first understand the three pillars holding up the industry: Film, Music, and Digital Streaming.