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Despite improvements, Indonesia’s digital literacy remains low
The digital literacy index improved slightly to 3.49 in 2021 from 3.46 in 2020, but remained in the “medium” category.
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D
igital literacy in Indonesia has remained suboptimal over the past two years, a recent index rating shows, despite the accelerated adoption of technology across a wide range of industries driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The digital literacy index, based on a survey of 10,000 respondents across the country, increased slightly to 3.49 in 2021 from 3.46 in 2020, with the subindices of digital skills and culture improving but digital ethics and safety worsening, the Communication and Information Ministry and research company Katadata Insight Center reported on Thursday.
The latest figure places Indonesia in the “medium” digital literacy category. The index ranges from 1to 5, with 1 being “very bad” and 5 “very good”.
“Indonesia is actually going toward ‘good’ in its digital literacy,” said ministry spokesperson Dedy Permadi, referring to the index value of 4. “But there is still homework to do. Of the four pillars, we still have homework on digital safety.”
The digital literacy index report comes as more and more Indonesians have begun studying, working and shopping online amid the pandemic, increasing their exposure to digital security risks such as personal data leaks and scams.
Experts say such risks underscore the urgent need to pass the data protection bill, but the House of Representatives and the executive have been slow in deliberations.
The communications ministry held digital literacy training for 12.5 million people last year and plans to train another 5.5 million this year.
Read also: Yearender 2021: Indonesia’s digital economy got bigger, not necessarily better
The digital literacy ratings varied by gender, with 55 percent of men having at least a “good” level of digital literacy, 6.8 percentage points above women.
The majority of respondents aged between 55 and 70 had poor digital literacy. Meanwhile, around six in 10 respondents aged between 13 and 22, namely Generation Z, had at least “good” digital literacy.
Ratings also varied by educational attainment. Two thirds of respondents with higher educational attainment had literacy ratings of 4 (good) and above. Meanwhile, a little less than half of their peers with low educational attainment had “good” digital literacy or above.
The literacy rate also varied by socioeconomic status. The share of respondents with monthly spending of more than Rp 6 million (US$417.92) with good literacy was 58.9 percent, higher than that of those who spent less than Rp 2 million monthly, at 48.1 percent.
With regard to internet safety, around six in 10 respondents included their phone numbers on social media accounts, 57.3 percent included their date of birth and 34.6 percent included their home address.
The survey also found that while most respondents viewed hoaxes as a serious problem, 45.5 percent were unsure about their ability to identify misleading information.
Dedy said the recent phenomenon of people selling selfies with their identity cards as a non-fungible tokens (NFTs) signaled the need to keep improving the country’s digital literacy.
