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The year in Indonesia's Google searches: from 'jamet' to croffle and 'Squid Games'
Here is a list of the things Indonesians looked up most on Google, throughout 2021.
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A scene from South Korea's Netflix Drama 'Squid Game' (The Jakarta Post/Netflix)
The most searched-for entries by Indonesian users of Google serve as an encyclopedic kaleidoscope of the year.
The year 2021 will shortly come to an end, marking the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With many people forced to stay at home and make sense of whatever is happening around them during this crazy time, many consulted Google Search to gain information and explanations about the pandemic and current events.
What is: ‘Jamet’?
The word “jamet” made it into Google Search’s top list this year, along with other internet lingo such as “cepu” (police informant) and “mletre” (being unable to function due to deep sorrow or being drunk).
The word jamet, which is an abbreviation of Jawa metal, most-likely made its first mainstream appearance back in 2008 when comic artists Benny and Mice published their book Lagak Jakarta: 100 Figures Coloring Jakarta, where they drew 100 caricatures of stereotypes who roam the Big Durian. In the book, a jamet is described as a long-haired, heavy metal fan from a Javanese working class background.
These days, internet users loosely use the term in a humorous, though slightly derogatory and racist, way to refer to people whose provincial Javanese origins show through despite trying to fit in with Jakarta’s supposedly cool circles.
