IPB University Academician Supports Social Media Restrictions: Developed Countries Have Been There Before

The Minister of Communication and Digital (Menkomdigi), Meutya Hafid, plans to issue age restrictions on the use of social media (medsos). This step is considered as a protection effort in the digital space.

Dr Dwi Retno Hapsari, IPB University lecturer from the Department of Communication Science and Community Development, welcomed the discourse. She said that developed countries such as the United States and Australia have already implemented this kind of policy.

“I see this plan as very good and needs to be supported. This breakthrough shows that the government has a high commitment to provide protection for children in accessing social media content,” she said.

However, she considered that in its implementation there are several challenges. Because, according to him, the most important thing in the end is supervision from parents. After all, she said, families and parents must be at the forefront to accompany their children.

Dr Retno said that restrictions need to be made considering the phenomenon that is currently developing is increasingly worrying. She said that there needs to be a preventive effort for the negative impact of social media on children.

“So far, digital literacy in Indonesia has been too busy teaching digital skills rather than digital safety and digital ethics,” she added.

She added that if this policy is already in effect, it needs the support and collaboration of all parties, including parents, schools, and technology practitioners and observers.

“What needs to be built in the future is that the policy is implemented with collaboration in providing education. How to utilize healthy internet, including how to use social media wisely,” she said.

Ideal Age for Social Media
On the other hand, Dr Retno also explained when the ideal age for children to start accessing social media is. According to her, this can be adjusted to the development of human needs, as in the rules of driving age for example.

“Like at the age of 17, or children start using ID cards. They are also already at the upper school level whose psychological maturity is much more ready to absorb information,” she explained.

However, Dr Retno explained that not a few teenagers who are 17 years old indicate mental problems after being exposed to content on social media. One of the impacts is that children become insecure. Even more fatal is addiction, which can lead to lower concentration and academic performance.

Apart from being an academic, as a parent, Dr Retno has also searched for information on various studies as her reference for guidance in limiting children’s social media education.

In one study, the limit of social media for young children is 30 minutes a day. Three categories in terms of the duration of children’s social media use include: light users (≤ 3 hours per day), medium users (3 – 6 hours per day), and heavy users (≥ 6 hours per day). Source: Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008 in Liang Journal, 2021.

“It is undeniable that social media also has a positive impact. A lot of creativity is born from positive content. Therefore, the regulations need to be accompanied by concrete sanctions,” she concluded. (dh) (IAAS/RUM)