Child Social Media Restrictions Deemed Effective, But Environment Poses Challenge

JAKARTA - PP Tunas (Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection) comes into effect on Saturday (28/3/2026) and has received support from several parents, including residents of Cilincing, North Jakarta. One of them, Syamsudin (38), considers the restrictions on children’s social media access effective in reducing the negative impacts of gadget use. However, he acknowledges that environmental factors remain a challenge in its implementation. “In my opinion, it is useful and very good for minimising the adverse effects of social media,” he told Kompas.com when met in the Ancol area on Saturday. “Children are allowed to play with handphones on holidays like Saturday and Sunday for two hours,” he said. In addition to limiting time, he also controls the type of content accessed by the children. “Yes (child-appropriate content is restricted), actually it’s more about limiting games and what they view on social media,” he explained. He added that he never gives personal social media account access to his children as a form of supervision. “Children are still not fully understanding the wide world, so they still need guidance,” he stated. He also highlighted the environmental factor of the residential area, which he considers not fully supportive of children’s outdoor activities. “The surrounding environment is uncontrolled and too free, so it lacks support for children,” he revealed. Therefore, he prefers to direct his children to engage in other more positive activities. “It’s better for children to study or go on a holiday together,” he added.