Sulsel Education Office urges parents to limit social media use for children from home

Not all matters can be handled by the school; instead, the primary supervision starts at home by parents. Makassar (ANTARA) - The Head of the South Sulawesi Education Office, Andi Iqbal Najamuddin, has invited parents to participate in supervising and limiting the use of gadgets and social media for children under 16 years old. According to Iqbal in Makassar on Sunday, not all matters can be handled by the school; instead, the primary supervision starts at home by parents. “Parents must also be involved. Therefore, collaboration with parents is something we must coordinate so that this social media restriction programme is also implemented by parents at home,” said Iqbal. This is based on the latest regulation, Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025, regarding social media restrictions to be implemented starting 28 March 2026, which limits children under 16 from accessing social media (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and others) to protect them from negative content and addiction. “We will invite and urge the public, especially parents, that everyone must support the restriction programme in schools which is also carried out by parents at home,” said Iqbal. Iqbal mentioned that before the enforcement of the social media restriction regulation, his office had issued a circular regarding the restriction of gadget use for school children. Although it is acknowledged that the use of gadgets is also beneficial in promoting the digitalisation of learning in schools. Therefore, the South Sulawesi Education Office strongly supports the regulation and restrictions on matters related to social media use.