Media literacy in Indonesia

Media literacy is a movement that aims to empower audiences so that they can access, analyze, evaluate and even counter attack mainstream media.

In Indonesia, this movement was established because people were increasingly concerned about the negative effect of media that treats audiences like robots.
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It started in 1990, when the Indonesia Child Welfare Foundation held an Asia-Pacific workshop on children and television. The meeting highlighted the role of children and parents in media literacy.

Media literacy here focuses on children and young people because they are deemed as the most vulnerable elements of society constantly bombarded with media.

The media literacy movement in Indonesia developed in two stages, a searching period from 1990 to 2000 and a maturation period between 2000 and 2010.

During the second period, many social and non-profit organizations implemented media literacy programs, held workshops in schools as well as universities to empower young audiences and teach them how to be critical of media.

Bobby Guntarto of the Children Media Development Foundation said there hadn’t been much progress afterwards, given the government and formal institutions had failed to follow up the issue.

“It’s about time the government took action to protect younger audiences against the negative impact of media,” he said in an article published in Kidia, a regular guide on media content for parents and children.

Here are some tips for young people to use media wisely:

• Separate media from meals: Do not eat in front of the TV. Turn the TV off and focus on the people around you.

• Do not watch TV while doing your homework.

• Do not spend more than one or two hours in front of a screen — TV, computer and movies — each day.

• Limit the number of media in your room. Keep TVs and computers in common spaces, such as the family room or den.

• Make sure visitors are aware of your family’s media rules.

• Once your media time is up, find an activity that exercises your brain or body. Spend one minute doing something mentally stimulating or physical for each minute you are exposed to media.

• When you see an ad on TV, think about who it is targeting, whether it is realistic, and what makes it appealing.

• Be able to separate fiction from reality in the media and use your judgment.

Source: www.pamf.org