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Indonesian parents welcome age restriction for social media: YouGov survey
A recent survey shows that parents are overwhelmingly in support of the government's plan to restrict social media use for Indonesian minors, with most respondents citing age-inappropriate content as a key reason.
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A man holds a smartphone displaying the home screen of Chinese social media app TikTok on April 19, 2024, in an office in Paris. (AFP/Antonin Utz)
E
ight-four percent of Indonesian parents with at least one child younger than 18 have expressed support for the government’s plan to impose a minimum age limit for social media users, according to a recent survey by a global public opinion and data company.
The results of the YouGov survey, released on Tuesday, also found that women showed greater support for the planned restriction, with 88 percent favoring the policy compared to 81 percent of men.
The online survey involved 892 Indonesian adults aged 18 and above who had at least one child, and was conducted last month after officials started mulling over the possibility of following in the footsteps of Australia, the first country to ban social media use for children under 16.
Exposure to age-inappropriate content was the main reason behind respondents’ overwhelming endorsement of the policy plan, with 81 percent citing this as a key concern. It was followed by excessive screen time with 74 percent, negative mental health impacts with 70 percent and online spread of misinformation with 62 percent.
Despite the very positive response, “only half of respondents believed that [imposing a minimum age limit] would be effective in curbing children’s online presence”, YouGov said in a press release earlier this week.
Asked about the ideal age for children to begin using social media, 81 percent of respondents said between 15 and 17, while 12 percent said 12-14 years old.
Read also: Tech giants support Indonesia’s plan to restrict children from social media
