The Paradox Of Indonesian Society: When A Culture Of Hospitality And Courtesy Doesn't Apply On Social Media

JAKARTA - Indonesian people have long been known for their hospitality. Easily gives a smile even with people he has just seen, always maintains good manners, is not individualistic, and likes to help.

See the friendliness of the Balinese people in general when meeting foreign tourists. They smiled and didn't even hesitate to say hello first, even if it was just small talk. Demonstrate cultural characteristics that are full of politeness.

Then, look at the attitude of the community when responding to disasters, such as the recent Cianjur earthquake. All elements flocked to gather aid movements to relieve victims who experienced disasters.

In fact, Muklis, a beggar who several years ago used to hang out under the fly over Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta alone can have savings of up to IDR 90 million from begging. This is real proof that the Indonesian people really like to help and share.

However, this characteristic fades when on social media. Everyone is freer to express himself so that people can patronize, blaspheme, judge, be sarcastic, even insult with inappropriate words.

Even though since 2016 the government has passed the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law, conditions have not changed significantly at this time. Social media, said political psychologist from the University of Indonesia, Hamdi Muluk, is still full of insults.

It's also not surprising that Microsoft, through the results of the Digital Civility Index (DCI) in 2020, labeled Indonesia as the country with the most impolite netizens compared to countries in Southeast Asia. Indonesian netizens easily share fake news, hate speech, and discrimination.

"Of course, it's very troubling. People's behavior on social media goes too far and tends to be uncivilized," Hamdi told VOI, on January 18, 2023.

Indeed, there is a clear difference between the virtual world and the real world or face-to-face. Cyber ​​activity on social media tends to be anonymized. Everyone can disguise their identity.

“So, there is a feeling of freedom to do something because no one can check who he is. The identity is sketchy, some have real accounts, half-real accounts, fake accounts, one person can also have more than 10 accounts," he said.

Behavior on social media also tends to be irresponsible. Everyone is free to argue, not even hesitate to backbite and berate.

"It's different in the real world everyday. When we meet face to face with other people the feeling of responsibility is higher. We can't insult people at will. In a sense, someone will be more submissive and obedient to the norms that apply in society," he explained.

“On social media, it's easy for everyone to lose empathy. It's getting more and more uncivilized," added Hamdi.

Even more sad, the behavior of Indonesian people on social media tends to be easily indoctrinated. Easy to go with the flow, easy to swallow all the information received, and easily provoked.

See now, only different views regarding the figure of Ganjar Pranowo or Anies Baswedan, social media activists have blasphemed each other. In fact, the two figures are not necessarily presidential candidates. The vision and mission are not yet clear.

"There are people who hypothesize like this, never mind maybe this is a reflection of the stuffiness of everyday life. If life is cramped, people tend to express it on social media. But, there is another hypothesis, maybe all the chaos in the world of social media is deliberately maintained by a few people for political purposes," said Hamdi.

“If this is true, Indonesia's condition is worrying that it is vulnerable to being divided. So that it has become a necessity, the community needs to strengthen literacy, including digital literacy," Hamdi added.

Digital Literacy

This is very important in the current era of globalization when the flow of information is getting faster and technology is growing. With literacy skills, one's level of understanding in drawing conclusions from the information received is better. Someone will also think more critically and not easily react too quickly.

"Apart from that, literacy skills also help increase public knowledge and help grow and develop good ethical values ​​in a person," as summarized from Fahri Abdullah's writings in Ruangguru.

The best way to strengthen these abilities is by reading at least. Grow interest and regularly read books. There is a saying that "books are windows to the world" is true.

Cultivate Early

Parents should also realize that. Educate children with literacy traditions and culture. The way, said the Minister of Education, Nadiem Makarim, was very simple.

First, routinely read books to children. According to him, “Books are like magic. Don't ask me why? Because it does work. If you read books to children regularly, their literacy comprehension, their critical thinking ability, will increase.”

Then, invite the children to discuss various things. At this moment, children will generally ask more questions. All children's questions are their opportunity to learn.

"So, a positive reaction to this question is extremely important," said Nadiem, as reported by Gita Wirjawan's YouTube channel.

Furthermore, parents must give children trust. Always convince the children that they are capable of doing something positive.

"It's exactly the same as the teacher, there's no difference. Continue to believe, 'I'm sure you can'. Even if he makes a mistake or stumbles, the child will feel 'maybe I can'. This is extraordinary, the beginning of a growth mindset," Nadiem said.

The most important of all, of course, is time. Nadiem said, "There's no point in loving our children, but we never want to spend the most expensive resource for our children, namely time. Especially for children aged 5-10 years.