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Ministry kicks off gadget-free hour during Ramadan for parents
The ministry launched the campaign in conjunction with the fasting month of Ramadan, during which parents can spend more time with their children.
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Play it safe: Children surf the internet using free Wi-Fi provided by the Karanganyar village administration in Ciamis regency, West Java, on June 21. Children in Indonesia are left unprotected in the cyberworld, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
(Antara/Adeng Bustomi)
T
he Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry launched a nationwide campaign on Wednesday to encourage parents to cut back on their time spent online and to engage in more direct interaction with their loved ones.
The ministry launched the campaign in conjunction with the fasting month of Ramadan, during which parents are able to spend more time with their children.
"Please listen and value the opinions of your children. Discuss more with them," Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Arifatul Choiri Fauzi said on Wednesday.
Arifatul said that more time spent on direct interaction with children could be crucial in helping the country's youth in dealing with mental health problems.
Population and Family Development Minister Wihaji said that the gadget-free hour campaign could help address the attention-deficit problem currently faced by the country's youth.
"If this [lack of direct communication] problem persists, don't blame the children if they choose to talk to their phones," Wihaji was quoted by Tempo.co on Wednesday.
A number of senior ministers joined Arifatul and Wihaji during the launch of the gadget-free hour on Wednesday including Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno and Religious Affairs Minister Nasarudin Umar.
The government is mulling whether to issue a regulation to set a minimum age for users of social media, a move aimed at protecting children in the digital space.
Minister Meutya has provided no details on what the age limit would be.
Internet penetration in Indonesia, a country of about 280 million people, reached 79.5 percent last year, according to a survey of 8,700 people by the Indonesia Internet Service Providers Association.
