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Jakartans find things to laugh about on social media
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Sometimes Jakartans just accidentally overhear something that really captures the colorful life of urban people. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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ightmarish traffic and heavy workloads are only two of the many things to complain about in the capital. However, people can still find joy and laughter in the face of all these hardships.
With more and more people turning to social media to find a quick escape from the grind of daily life, some have created accounts to share funny stories or bits of random overheard conversations.
According to a study conducted by We Are Social and Hootsuite published on Jan. 30, Indonesia is home to more than 130 million internet users, 49 percent of whom are active on social media. On average, they spend up to three and a half hours a day on social media.
Youtube, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are the top four most popular social media platforms in Indonesia. Instagram alone has more than 53 million users in Indonesia.
One of the more popular Instagram accounts in Indonesia is @overheardjkt, which currently has more than 74,200 followers. The account regularly posts absurd and sometimes witty snippets of conversations overheard all over Greater Jakarta.
Diandra Septa, an employee of an online booking service startup, who was born and raised in Jakarta, said she could relate to many of @overheardjkt's posts. She first heard of the account from her colleagues.
One post recounts a question asked by an unknown Jakartan, "Kebon Jahe, Kebon Kacang and Kebon Sirih are all located in Tanah Abang [Central Jakarta]. Why is Kebon Jeruk so far away from them?" to which a second person replies, "Maybe Kebon Jeruk was being bullied by the other Kebons."
"It's hilarious. It's even funnier since my office is in Kebon Jeruk [West Jakarta]. After that, my office mates and I scrolled down through the other posts and laughed together," the 25-year-old said.
Car Ride. Jl. S. Parman. 🍊👋 Overheard by @natchristan 📥 #separatism #crushedorange #overheardjkt
Sebuah kiriman dibagikan oleh Overheard Jakarta (@overheardjkt) pada
@overheardjkt was cofounded by Amira Dayanara and Irene Pitarini after they graduated from a university in Los Angeles, United States. They were inspired by a similar account created in LA called @overheardLA.
"When we arrived in Jakarta, we realized there must be an abundance of funny stories that the urbanites here tell and share," Amira said, adding that the account was launched in February 2016.
"It's not that we're encouraging people to eavesdrop on other people's conversation. But most of the time we just accidentally overhear something that really captures the colorful life of urban people," she added laughing.
Another of @overheardjkt's most popular posts is a quote overheard near an ATM machine, "I worked a whole month and spent my paycheck in an hour." The post has received almost 6,000 likes.
Another @overheardjkt follower, Dhamarista Intan, said she loved the post because she could relate.
Teenagers. ATM BCA. Tendean. 💸 Overheard by @dinahnenden 📥 #fastmoney #overheardjkt
Sebuah kiriman dibagikan oleh Overheard Jakarta (@overheardjkt) pada
Both Diandra and Intan said they followed @overheardjkt and many other thematic accounts so they could find things to make them laugh during their busy days at work.
In addition to @overheardjkt, @drama.olshop shares stories surrounding online shop transactions and @dramaojol.id shares stories about online ride-hailing services. @lambe_turah is also a popular gossip account. These accounts have 435,000, 748,000 and 4.8 million Instagram followers respectively.
