Bradley Rowen Liu, 11, wonders what he will do with himself once Indonesia’s social media ban for under-16s enters into force. As things stand, he spends most of his free time on TikTok.
The primary schooler is one of about 70 million children the government is hoping to shield from the threats of cyberbullying, pornography and Internet addiction.
Several countries have proposed teen social media bans since Australia’s landmark move in December to stop users under 16 from holding accounts on many popular platforms.
But Indonesia is among the first to act as concerns grow over the impact of such apps on kids’ mental and physical well-being.
YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox – deemed “high-risk” platforms by authorities in the South-East Asian nation – will from today start deactivating underage accounts.
Bradley, who says he can easily spend five hours a day on TikTok at weekends, said he worries the ban will leave him driftless.
“Maybe I’ll do some other activities,” he shrugged, without much conviction.
“But I think I’m going to ask my dad or my mum to help me access the video-sharing app,” the boy said after class at a private academy in Jakarta where he learns computer coding.
“Parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm,” communications minister Meutya Hafid said when she announced the ban three weeks ago.
Like in Australia, the Indonesian rules place the onus on platforms to regulate teen access.
Non-compliance of the ban, which will be phased in over time, will put defaulters at risk of a fine or even a suspension.
It is part of a global reckoning over the potential harms of social media for minors.
A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman through the “addictive design” of their platforms, ordering the companies to pay US$6mil (RM23.9mil) in damages.
Britain’s upper house of parliament voted this week in favour of banning children from social media, piling pressure on the government to follow suit.
Though annoyed about the looming interdiction, Bradley concedes even he is worried about screen addiction.
“Sometimes I have to remember to keep track of time ... Like when it’s a holiday, I kind of get really attached to my phone,” he said.
A fellow pupil, 15-year-old Maximillian, said he spends too much time on social media, leaving him feeling “unproductive”. He supports the ban.
Some want the government to go even further.
Randi Putra Chaniago, who teaches at the academy, said social media – including the surreal AI-generated clips known as brain rot – was a distraction in class.
“It’s concerning, really, because some of this ‘brain rot’ content is weird and can disturb children’s way of thinking,” he said.
The 23-year-old, who uses YouTube to teach some classes, said the ban would challenge teachers to find better educational tools.
The P2G Indonesian Teachers’ Association, for its part, wants the government to ban cellphones in classrooms altogether.
YouTube parent company Google said the two platforms have already introduced features allowing parents to limit scrolling time.
It said AI tech will be launched in Indonesia by next year to determine a user’s age.
But “blanket account restrictions ... will deprive young people accessing YouTube of the protections, parental controls, and security features we’ve integrated into supervised accounts”, it argued.
TikTok said it would work with the government to ensure “teens can continue to access safe online spaces”.
And gaming platform Roblox has pledged to introduce “additional controls” for minors. — AFP
