In this presentation, I critically examine the contemporary discourse of empowerment in hypermediated Indonesia, focusing on how it obscures and sustains existing power structures rather than subverting them. Drawing from Lila Abu-Lughod’s (1990) germinal critique of resistance and grounded in recent fieldwork with young women leaders across Indonesia, I interrogate the ways in which resistance has been co-opted and repackaged as empowerment by dominant actors particularly within youth and gender-focused activism in Indonesia. By contrasting the empowerment strategies employed in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Lombok, I expose the limitations of current approaches that, while outwardly progressive, reproduce the power imbalances they claim to challenge through conventions. This presentation advocates for a more critical, grounded analysis of empowerment, moving beyond abstract, top-down narratives to uncover the intricate ways in which power operates and is maintained.