50 Percent Of Children Have Seen Adult Content, Menkomdigi Affirms The Role Of Parents

JAKARTA - Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, emphasized that child protection efforts in the digital space require the role of family and parental assistance.

According to data from the Online Knowledge and Practice of Children in Indonesia survey conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2023, children in Indonesia mostly use the internet for 5.4 hours per day.

Where 50.3 percent of them have seen adult content, and 48 percent of them are said to have experienced digital bullying.

"Our children are running in a very fast and challenging world and most parents are still letting them run alone in this unsafe realm," Meutya said as quoted Friday, November 21.

Meutya gave an example of the story of MW, a third grade elementary school student, who found adult content from online games, and Denta who was bullied on social media after posting anti-smoking campaign content.

According to him, the two examples of cases emphasized the importance of the role of parents to assist children in interacting in the digital space.

"What we want is parents not to create accounts for their children, but instead to assist their children in surfing in cyberspace," said Meutya.

Meutya mentioned that recently, Roblox implemented a child's age verification system using a camera. He hopes that other platforms can catch up soon.

"Saha hopes that these efforts are expected to ensure that children grow up safe and confident in the digital space," he said.