Minister for Communications and Digital Affairs Invites Students to Discuss Reasons for Delaying Social Media Access

Jakarta — Indonesia’s Minister for Communications and Digital Affairs (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid engaged secondary and upper secondary school students in discussions regarding the rationale behind regulatory measures to restrict social media access for children under 16 years of age.

Meutya emphasised that the regulation was not intended to prohibit children from using technology, but rather to prepare them mentally before entering the complex digital landscape.

“The age deemed most appropriate to begin accessing social media is around 16 years old. This is not a unilateral government decision, but the result of extensive discussions with psychologists, child development experts, and various research concerning the impact of social media on child development,” Meutya stated.

Beyond the discussion, students also received education on digital security and healthy technology use.

The minister explained that the government had received considerable input from the public regarding concerns about negative impacts of social media on children.

Meutya added that the rapid advancement of technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), poses additional challenges in the digital space by enabling content manipulation that becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from authentic information.

“With AI development, digital content will become increasingly difficult to differentiate between genuine and manipulated material. Children will certainly struggle more in discerning what information is true and what is not,” she noted.

The government hopes that through the proposed regulation, children will eventually access digital platforms, particularly social media, in stages aligned with their developmental progress and age readiness.

“The government is present so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the power of algorithms,” Meutya asserted.

She believes the regulation is appropriate, as she herself frequently encounters negatively laden content which, if exposed to students at that age, could produce adverse effects in their future.

“Looking at my own experience and that of friends around me, this regulation is actually quite positive,” she concluded.