Children of a new age<\/p>\n
Until yesterday, few of us are likely to have heard of the
\nvillage called Semambung. Now, this East Javanese village has
\nbecome the center of celebrations to publicize Indonesia's first
\nNational Family Day. As President Soeharto remarked on the
\noccasion, June 29 was chosen because on that day 45 years ago
\nIndonesian families in the areas around Yogyakarta -- Indonesia's
\nwartime capital during the war of independence -- were for the
\nfirst time reunited after four years of fighting the Dutch in a
\nguerrilla war.<\/p>\n
Semambung, in the regency of Sidoarjo near Surabaya, was
\nchosen to receive the honor of hosting the official ceremonies
\nbecause of the village's exemplary community spirit in support of
\ndevelopment. The result was a type family life in the village
\nthat displayed a constant improvement over the past years. \"I am
\ncertain thousands of others of our villages will take Semambung
\nas an example,\" the President said.<\/p>\n
No doubt the model of a harmonious family life, as implied in
\nPresident Soeharto's remarks, is something that most of us find
\nworth striving for. Yet it is precisely this image of a
\ntraditional model family that tempts us to question how long this
\nideal can be maintained in the light of what we usually call
\n\"globalization\".<\/p>\n
To illustrate, a news item that appeared on one of the inside
\npages of this newspaper yesterday quoted communications expert
\nAlwi Dahlan as warning that American television hero \"MacGyver\"
\nwas slowly taking over the role of parents in Indonesia in
\ninstilling values to their children. Between 50 to 60 million
\nIndonesian children are growing up to become a \"TV generation\"
\nwho acquire their values from television rather than from their
\nparents. Moreover, the domination of foreign programs on
\ntelevision means that the children are learning values that are
\nalien to them or their parents.<\/p>\n
There may be a considerable degree of truth in Dr. Alwi
\nDahlan's observation. For certain, many young Indonesians seem to
\nbe quite receptive to certain new ways or ideas that come to them
\nvia television or movie screens. For example, certain gestures
\nand mannerisms that were unknown here some years ago but have
\nlong been common among youths in America, seem now to have been
\neffortlessly adopted by our youngsters.<\/p>\n
As the tide of globalization is bound to keep swelling with
\nthe coming advances in communications technology, the obvious
\nquestion is whether a \"globalization\" of ideas and values will
\neventually take place in this country and, if so, to what degree.
\nEven now a study done by University of Indonesia communications
\nexpert Muhammad Budyatna has found that, on the average,
\nIndonesian youths of senior high school age spend between three
\nand four hours of their free time in front of television sets.
\nAbout three-quarters of the youths questioned said watching
\ntelevision was part of their daily routine.<\/p>\n
As more and more women are joining their husbands in earning a
\nliving for the family, the resulting change in the pattern of
\nfamily life probably provides the impetus for this phenomenon. In
\nany case, it is interesting to note the implications stated by
\nDr. Alwi Dahlan, who is also a member of the government's BP-7
\nboard which in charge of propagating the Pancasila national
\nideology in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesian children, Alwi Dahlan said, need to learn the
\ndesired values from the \"Generation of 1945\" -- those who fought
\nthe war of independence -- but a new and fresh way must be found
\nto convey the message to them. Those values include a strong
\nfighting spirit in times of trouble, something the present
\ngeneration of young Indonesians has never experienced. Clearly,
\nsuch values are worth perpetuating. But the only way the message
\ncan be conveyed effectively is by knowing how to communicate with
\nthe young, members of an entirely new generation of Indonesians.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/children-of-a-new-age-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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