Indonesia\u2019s online population grows 49 percent annually
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\nAs more Indonesians come online, the communications influence of the world\u2019s fourth-largest population increasingly will be felt.<\/p>\n
Washington - Indonesia is \u201con the brink of a major electronic revolution,\u201d says one of the country\u2019s first bloggers, Enda Nasution. Boasting the fourth-largest population in the world, the relatively small percentage of Indonesian Internet users are seeing their numbers grow thanks to improved access to the Internet, including through affordable cell phone technology.<\/p>\n
According to data collected in September 2009 by Internet World Stats, \u201conly\u201d 30 million Indonesians are online. The figure represents 12.5 percent of the country\u2019s estimated population of 241 million. But it is already enough to make Indonesia the country with the 13th highest online presence. Combined with the country\u2019s relative tolerance for a free media, it is expected that Indonesia\u2019s growing online presence will be strongly felt in the coming years.<\/p>\n
Nasution told America.gov that the relatively small penetration of Internet use in his country \u201cbothers me a lot,\u201d but according to his analysis, Indonesia\u2019s online population grows 49 percent annually, and has grown more than \u201c1,000 percent in the last nine years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe changes are already happening,\u201d he said, with greater distribution of computer hardware, software and Internet access. In addition, almost all new cell phones, even those costing less than $100, boast online connection capability. \u201cSo I believe we are on the brink of major electronic revolution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Nasution has been described as the \u201cfather of the Indonesian blogosphere,\u201d because his online presence since 2001 not only places him in the first generation of Indonesian bloggers, but he has dedicated much of his activity to explaining the art of blogging to his countrymen and encouraging newcomers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndonesian bloggers are mostly community driven,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are some exceptions but mostly that\u2019s the common norm.\u201d Smaller blogging communities exist in the cities and in provinces, and they are \u201cessential\u201d for newcomers who seek both technical and moral support.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost Indonesians are shy to come to a meet-up alone, and the younger ones still need encouraging and fostering their self confidence,\u201d he said. And there is the question of audience. That\u2019s the \u201cnumber one question new bloggers usually ask,\u201d he said. \u201cWho\u2019s going to read my blog?\u201d<\/p>\n
The community-centered style of Indonesian blogging manifests itself in annual national gatherings such as Pesta Blogger, and its less formal alternative Muktamar Blogger. Both build relationships among bloggers as they share knowledge and tips, and encourage greater unity in the developing media.<\/p>\n
According to academic research published in 2009 by Nadine Freischlad (PDF, 1.9MB), Indonesia\u2019s blogosphere is also partly characterized by memories of censorship and media manipulation that occurred during the Soeharto era, which lasted nearly three decades before the former president\u2019s rule was ended in 1998.<\/p>\n
Internet technology arrived in the mid- to late 1990s, precisely when opposition to Soeharto was growing, and cyberspace became a rare platform for free expression and interaction, as well as a major source of news and information that was free from state control or censorship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Internet was used by the students\u2019 movement to coordinate itself and to mobilize the masses,\u201d Freischlad writes. \u201cActivists transformed information obtained from the Internet into printed flyers and distributed them on the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the post-Soeharto era, Indonesia\u2019s government has ended censorship and encouraged Internet use among its citizens. Freischlad points out that many Indonesians continue to regard the World Wide Web as a \u201cfree space\u201d outside the control of the state, and public facilities like Internet cafes and Warnet (Warung Internet) kiosks remain popular and have developed their own unique culture among Indonesian youth in the absence of widespread personal ownership of computers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe role of the Warnet as a \u2018free space\u2019 outside the regulative power of state, economy and social\/moral repression can only be fully grasped when looking back at the circumstances that made it so important for Indonesian youngsters and Indonesian society in general to have such a space,\u201d Freischlad writes.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-internet-penetration-expected-to-skyrocket-1269481020", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }