Doctor assesses social media restrictions as supportive of child development
Denpasar (ANTARA) - Paediatric specialist Ni Luh Sukma Pratiwi Murti believes that restricting social media access for children under 16 can support health, which plays a crucial role in the growth and development process.
“To avoid continuous exposure to electronic screens (screen time),” said Ni Luh Sukma Pratiwi Murti when contacted in Denpasar, Bali, on Saturday.
The paediatric specialist, who is also a lecturer in the social paediatric growth and development subdivision (TKPS) of the Specialist Medical Education Programme in Child Health at Udayana University/Sanglah Central General Hospital (RSUP) in Denpasar, believes that parents have a significant role in accompanying their children.
The aim is to foster warmer interactions between children and parents amid the presence of information technology.
“Parents also have a role in supervising children’s social media use (screen time),” added the doctor, who is currently assigned to the National Central General Hospital Cipto Mangunkusumo (RSCM) in Jakarta.
Parents are also expected to actively guide children towards positive and more productive activities that support child development, one of which is through the arts.
Beyond the roles of children and parents, she hopes that through the government’s regulation, namely PP Tunas, it can regulate electronic system operators (PSE) in Indonesia to provide a safe digital space for children.
“So actually, the purpose of PP Tunas is to protect children in the digital space, which has often been problematic, for example with pornography, violence, bullying, and others. So it should regulate not just the children’s side but the digital platforms,” she added.
The presence of this regulation is urgent for Indonesia as it can safeguard privacy while protecting children’s data in the digital space.
Thus, the regulation limits children from high-risk digital platforms, particularly the initial eight digital platforms: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox.
As of 27 March, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemenkomdigi) recorded that only two digital platforms have fully complied with the regulation, namely X and Bigo Live; platforms assessed as partially cooperative towards the regulation are TikTok and Roblox.
Meanwhile, the other four platforms—Facebook, Threads, Instagram, and YouTube—have for the time being not yet met the provisions of PP Tunas.