The Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry launched a nationwide campaign to encourage parents to cut back on their time spent online and to engage in more direct interaction with their loved ones.
The ministry launched the campaign in conjunction with the fasting month of Ramadan, during which parents are able to spend more time with their kids.
“Please listen and value the opinions of your children. Discuss more with them,” Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Arifatul Choiri Fauzi said on Wednesday.
Arifatul said that more time spent on direct interaction with children could be crucial in helping the country’s youth in dealing with mental health problems.
Population and Family Development Minister Wihaji said that the gadget-free hour campaign could help address the attention-deficit problem currently faced by the country’s youth.
“If this (lack of direct communication) problem persists, don’t blame the children if they choose to talk to their phones,” he was quoted as saying by Tempo.co.
The government is mulling whether to issue a regulation to set a minimum age for users of social media, a move aimed at protecting children in the digital space.
Internet penetration in Indonesia, a country of about 280 million people, reached 79.5% last year, according to a survey of 8,700 people by the Indonesia Internet Service Providers Association. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
