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View all search resultsConventional jobs losing ground in digital era
Paperboys and conventional photographers are losing their jobs as the world around them grows more and more digitalized by the second.
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(Shutterstock/Denys Prykhodov)
J
an. 10 was like any other day for Buyung, a 45-year-old paperboy who regularly delivers the morning paper to offices and houses in Harmoni, Central Jakarta. However, unlike in the past, he carried few newspapers on the back of his bicycle.
Ever since starting the job in 2009, he has experienced a massive decrease in the number of newspapers he delivers, with the world around him growing more and more digitalized by the second. Consequently, jobs like his risk running the way of the dodo.
Paperboys make less than they did in past decades and many are out of a job as a result. Buyung said many of his colleagues either made the decision to retire or look for other jobs to support their family.
“I have friends who turned to ojol [online motorcycle taxis] and food vendors after retiring from being a paperboy,” said Buyung while preparing to deliver newspapers on a rainy morning that day.
Earning enough to feed his family is a daily struggle due to the shrinking number of newspapers. However, there are still people like Buyung who cannot let go of being a paperboy so easily.
Another paperboy, Sodikin, 50, said the digital era severely affected his monthly salary.
Once earning a monthly salary of Rp 2 million (US$146.51), he said the newspapers he delivered every day now only netted him Rp 300,000 monthly.
