'Hanging out' can be fun and safe, teens told

JAKARTA (JP): Dugem, which is now popular among teenagers, can be fun and safe if care is taken, experts said.

Dugem, which stands for dunia gemerlap (dazzling world), is the term used among teens for the way they spend their leisure time, either on school days, weekends or holidays, as well as places where they like to hang out.

It can be used to refer to their choice of venues, such as cafes, bars, discotheques, shopping malls or other public places.

Amid concerns that such a growing habit among urban teenagers can expose them to the dangers of drugs and AIDS, an activist with the Indonesian Aids Foundation (YAI) said the trick is to choose the right time, place and friends.

"Being responsible for yourself is the most important thing to having safe and fun dugem," YAI program coordinator Mira Fajar Avriati told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a discussion on the issue with about 150 high school students at Bulungan Sport Hall, South Jakarta, last Thursday.

Most of the participants were shy about publicly admitting their dugem activities, claiming during the discussion that they were well-behaved.

However, outside the formal discussion, many were more candid and some said that they have visited dugem venues regularly with their friends, mostly on Saturday nights or on holidays.

Mira also noted that there is strong peer pressure regarding the trend. Many teenagers dugem because they are afraid of being branded as "unsophisticated" by their friends.

Mira pointed out that dugem could make teenagers more vulnerable to drugs and HIV/AIDS as they could meet people with questionable backgrounds, including those who could expose them to drugs and sex.

She noted that it is important for teenagers to understand that dugem does not actually mean they should use drugs, get drunk or freely have sex with their partners.

She provided a number of tips on how to have fun without being exposed to dangerous activities.

Mira's suggestions included, choosing a place where most people were from the same age group; carrying an identification card; seeking parents' permission; always going out with relatives, friends, boyfriends or girlfriends; and wearing respectable clothing.

Yasmin, a student from a high school in South Jakarta said she likes to dugem on weekends. She said that she will often dugem with her friends, with her parents' consent.

"Apart from relaxation, I can also meet cute boys," Yasmin chuckled, adding that she always returns home before midnight.

But Iva, another high school student, said she could never dugem, especially at nights, because her parents imposed a curfew on her.

"I never dugem. My father won't allow me," she said. (07)