Child Grooming Involves Online Emotional Manipulation of Children

Restrictions on social media access for children under 16 through Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection (PP Tunas) serve as a filter to keep children safe while navigating the digital realm. This regulation is also expected to prevent cases of child grooming that emerge on social media, which can target any child because child grooming operates covertly, gradually, and indirectly. Ariani, a member of the Coordinating Work Unit (UKK) for Growth and Development and Social Paediatrics of the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI), explained that child grooming is a manipulative process against children under 18 years old carried out by perpetrators to build trust and emotional closeness with the child gradually, so that the child feels safe and trusting, with the aim of sexual exploitation. Child grooming involves emotional approaches, psychological manipulation, and desensitisation to sexual behaviour. “The key is that there must be an emotional approach, psychological manipulation, and desensitisation to sexual behaviour. So the child will gradually consider sexual behaviour as something normal. A series of planned actions. The goal is for them to not know the normal boundaries, what should not be allowed becomes permissible, ultimately creating opportunities for exploitation,” said Ariani online on Tuesday (31/3). There are five important points to distinguish child grooming from paedophilia or other sexual violence. First, the process is gradual, not instant, but a time-consuming process where the perpetrator slowly approaches and manipulates the target. Second, building trust, where the perpetrator is very skilled at showing their good side and deceiving the victim’s family or environment so that they are trusted. Third, emotional manipulation. The perpetrator exploits the child’s emotional vulnerabilities such as feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem, or problems at home to make the child feel comfortable and special. “So the perpetrator exploits children who are vulnerable, with certain criteria that make the child a target for the perpetrator. To make the child feel valued, comfortable, safe, special, which they didn’t get before,” said Ariani. Fourth is the online/offline modus operandi; grooming can occur directly (face-to-face) or online through social media or online games. Fifth, the purpose of exploitation in the form of manipulating, exploiting, or sexually abusing the victim. “So with several processes and stages, the ultimate goal is definitely sexual exploitation of the child,” she stated. Cases of child grooming could increase along with the rapid access to the internet and social media, with various new platforms emerging, including online games and so on. Make children discussion partners, friends, especially for teenagers. Don’t let children thirst for affection. The government calls in Meta and Google for violating child protection rules. Administrative sanctions up to access blocking are ready to be imposed. Minister of Communication and Digitalisation Meutya Hafid also praised platforms X and Bigo Live for complying with the age delay rules for child users on their platforms. Supervision of the policy will focus on child protection aspects, including ensuring that children’s rights in the digital space are still fulfilled. Protecting the digital space requires comprehensive steps that include public education and strengthening the capacity of users to understand cyber risks.