In the Digital Era Parents Must Accompany Children Using Gadgets

JAKARTA - In the midst of rapid technological development, parents are urged to be more proactive in accompanying children when using gadgets.

Without proper supervision, exposure to the digital world can affect the way children think to their emotional state, so the role of parents is very important in providing boundaries and directions.

Child and adolescent clinical psychologist Gisella Tani Pratiwi emphasized that parents need to actively participate in their children's digital lives. One important step is to understand the latest rules regarding the use of social media, including age limits, and then communicate them to children.

"It needs to be discussed slowly with our children according to their age, 'son, now there is this regulation, the reason is like this'. So, the reason why it was then limited, it must also be included in the discussion," he explained.

The government itself has issued Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 concerning the governance of electronic systems in child protection. According to Gisella, this regulation can be a guide for parents in accompanying children in an increasingly complex digital era.

He also assessed that government intervention was indeed needed to offset the impact of technological developments. However, the main role remains with parents in guiding children to use digital media wisely.

"Parents still need to support their role, good habits in accessing social media or other internet content," he said.

By providing examples of healthy social media use, children will have the knowledge to be more wise when they are in the digital space. Without guidance, internet exposure can affect children's cognitive development, such as a decrease in deep thinking ability and a tendency to want instant results.

"Maybe from everyday behavior, it's hard to be patient waiting," he added.

From an emotional perspective, children are also at risk of experiencing unstable mood changes and difficulty understanding their own emotions. Lack of opportunities to train emotional regulation can be a challenge in child development.

In addition, the intense use of social media can affect children's self-concept. They tend to compare themselves with others who look better, so they risk losing confidence if they are not accompanied well.

If there is no accompaniment, children can feel confused because they do not have role models in using digital media. This has the potential to affect the way they see themselves.

However, Gisella emphasized that children with a strong self-concept tend to be more resistant to the negative influences of the digital world.

Therefore, parental support is very needed, ranging from supervising the use of gadgets according to age, setting a good example, to providing non-digital activities that are still interesting for children.