PP Tunas Shields Parents in Protecting Children from Social Media Dangers

Around 50% of child internet users have been exposed to sexual content on social media. PP Tunas can serve as a shield for parents to protect their children from the dangers of excessive social media use. “This policy can be an entry point for collective awareness of the dangers of excessive digital use on children if they cannot yet manage it,” said child and adolescent development expert from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Novi Poespita Candra, on Sunday (29/3). According to her, restriction policies are indeed necessary, but they are not sufficient if focused solely on prohibitions. Efforts to reduce gadget addiction risks should instead be strengthened from within the child through education and digital literacy. Therefore, children who are already familiar with their gadgets in daily life need to be equipped with the ability to understand and manage technology use wisely. “The policy is an external factor. To reduce addiction risks, internal factors should be built with self-awareness through education or what is often called digital literacy,” she stated. This refers to policies implemented in advanced countries. Not only at home, regulations are also applied in schools that provide literacy to understand so they use gadgets wisely. “In some other countries, besides prohibiting gadget use at a young age, schools build self-awareness about how to use digital wisely,” she said. “Likewise, schools build a learning ecosystem to strengthen all children’s senses through direct seeing, hearing, touching, direct interaction with humans, and reading books before they know gadgets at age 13,” she added. In essence, the regulation made by the government is not to prohibit them from accessing the digital world. PP Tunas, which was inaugurated on 28 March 2026, actually protects children from social media dangers. In the regulation, PP Tunas limits children from high-risk digital platforms, especially for the initial implementation applying to eight digital platforms: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox. Children accustomed to relying on gadgets in daily life risk showing excessive emotional reactions (tantrums) when their use is restricted by parents. PP Tunas is a response to concerns from the medical community regarding the negative impacts of social media on child growth and development. Exposure to gadgets during crucial growth phases (ages 5 to 15) risks triggering persistent developmental disorders into adulthood. Currently, many platforms provide parental control features, but not all parents understand how to operate them. The key to the success of gadget restriction rules is not only in prohibitions but also in parents’ exemplary behaviour as role models.