Abstract. This paper examines how users’ emotions in digital interactions on Twitter/X are commodified into sources of economic value by the platform. Drawing on theories of affective labor, platform capitalism, and digital ethnography, the study highlights the concept of play labor—voluntary, unpaid user activity that generates monetizable data, attention, and engagement. The central focus is the paradox of empathy, wherein expressions of solidarity and seemingly genuine care are transformed into performative metrics that benefit the platform. This study analyzes how Twitter’s interface, emotion-amplifying algorithms, and gamified reward systems facilitate intense yet invisible emotional labor. Findings suggest that play labor on social media leads to emotional exhaustion, exacerbates digital inequalities, and calls for collective strategies—such as transparent algorithmic governance and platform cooperatives—to reclaim users’ emotional agency.

Keyword: Play labor, affective labor, platform capitalism, digital exploitation, empathy economy.

Abstrak. Tulisan ini mengkaji bagaimana emosi pengguna dalam interaksi digital di Twitter/X dikomodifikasi menjadi sumber nilai ekonomi oleh platform. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan teori kerja afektif, kapitalisme platform, dan etnografi digital, penelitian ini menyoroti konsep play labor, aktivitas sukarela pengguna yang tidak dibayar namun menghasilkan data, perhatian, dan keterlibatan yang dimonetisasi. Fokus utama adalah pada paradoks empati, di mana ekspresi solidaritas dan kepedulian yang tampak tulus justru diubah menjadi metrik performatif yang menguntungkan perusahaan. Studi ini menganalisis bagaimana antarmuka Twitter, algoritma amplifikasi emosi, dan sistem penghargaan yang digamifikasi mendorong kerja emosional yang intens namun tak terlihat. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa kerja bermain di media sosial menimbulkan kelelahan emosional, memperparah ketimpangan digital, dan menuntut adanya strategi kolektif, seperti tata kelola algoritmik yang transparan dan koperasi platform—untuk merebut kembali agensi emosi pengguna.

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