Indonesia’s new digital policy must empower parents

Digital technology has become deeply integrated into children’s daily lives, moving beyond just content consumption to active participation on social media platforms. 

Research suggests that while active engagement on social media provides children and teens with new avenues for learning, it also carries several potential risks, ranging from cyberbullying to digital addiction.  

A 2024 report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that more than one in 10 adolescents struggle with problematic social media habits that they find difficult to quit, despite the negative impact on their lives.

Research shows that girls are more susceptible to these issues, with a 13 per cent prevalence compared to nine per cent for boys.  

The Indonesian government's move, through the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi), to issue Ministerial Regulation Number 9 of 2026, which prohibits children under 16 from owning social media accounts and accessing high-risk digital platforms starting March 28, 2026, needs to be understood from this perspective. 

As this policy begins to take shape, an equally important question emerges: What should come next?

Some studies highlight that children's digital addiction levels are significantly shaped by socio-demographic factors, specifically maternal education and geographic location.   

However, increasing parental awareness remains the most effective strategy for lowering the prevalence of digital addiction (Kurt RN et al, 2025; Oktay and Ozturk, 2024).

Regulatory frameworks constitute the foundational baseline.   

Having said that, ensuring the holistic wellbeing of minors within digital environments needs a comprehensive socio-ecological ecosystem.   

This architecture must extend beyond individual child protection to include systematic capacity building for families, educators, and the broader community.  

This is why digital literacy can also be seen as a form of social protection.  

Supporting families as the first line of protection 

The new policy implicitly places families at the centre of child protection. Parents and caregivers become the critical first responders responsible for ensuring that children are both protected and prepared for the digital landscape.

Yet in reality, not all families have the same capacity to fulfil this role. Many parents face challenges such as limited digital literacy, lack of time due to economic pressures, and uncertainty about how to guide children’s online behaviour (Gür and Türel, 2022; Tomczyk and Potyrała, 2021).

In addition, parental responsibility regarding technology has evolved into a matter of significant public scrutiny.

The intersection of rapid digital transformation and childrearing creates a high-stakes environment filled with uncertainty.

Parents are often overwhelmed by conflicting societal expectations: the pressure to embrace technological innovation versus the urgent need to monitor and restrict “mindless” digital activities.

Ultimately, these digital shifts provoke deep-seated anxieties about personal agency and the preservation of traditional values in a changing world.

This potentially creates a critical gap. A policy that focuses on children must also invest in supporting parents. 

Effective literacy must move beyond technical skills to encompass a psychological understanding of the home environment and a commitment to safe, moderate internet practices by the parents themselves. 

Community-based parenting programmes, accessible digital literacy resources, and school-led engagement can play an important role in strengthening families’ ability to navigate this transition. 

Addressing the risk of unequal readiness 

One of the less visible challenges of digital restriction is the risk of uneven readiness.

Children from more advantaged family backgrounds may still gain early exposure to technology through guided environments, educational tools, and parental support. Meanwhile, others may experience delayed access without adequate preparation.  

This can lead to a new form of digital inequality which is not just in access, but in readiness.  

Indonesia’s digital landscape itself reflects this variation. 

The Indeks Masyarakat Digital Indonesia (Indonesia’s Digital Society Index) highlights that digital access, skills, and safety awareness remain uneven across regions and socio-economic groups. This suggests that children’s “readiness” is not determined solely by age, but also by the digital environment in which they grow up.

Schools, community organisations, and local governments need to play an active role in ensuring that all children, not only those with supportive home environments, are equipped with essential digital skills.  

Digital resilience through parental empowerment 

To effectively bridge the gap between regulatory frameworks and the lived realities of families, the development of accessible, community-based parental empowerment programs is important.

Rather than relying predominantly on technical control mechanisms, such initiatives should promote a model of mediated moderation, equipping parents with the capacity to engage in meaningful, ongoing dialogue with their children regarding digital content.  

Additionally, integrating digital literacy into existing social welfare platforms, such as the Posyandu (Integrated Healthcare Post) and the Program Keluarga Harapan (Family Hope Programme), would enable the state to reach diverse socioeconomic groups, ensuring that parents are supported with both the psychological insight and practical competencies required to transition from passive rule enforcers into proactive and informed digital mentors.  

Finally, schools also play an important role in re-positioning themselves as collaborative centres for strengthening family-level digital resilience. 

Since parental anxiety often stems from conflicting information, schools can provide a standardized, evidence-based curriculum for parents that aligns with the student’s developmental stage. 

Such alignment reduces the cognitive dissonance for the child and alleviates the burden on parents, transforming digital safety from a private struggle into a collective responsibility. 

Dyana Chusnulitta Jatnika is a lecturer in Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia, and a former Head of Implementation and Tribe Lead of Citizen Engagement and Services at Jabar Digital Services, a GovTech delivery unit under the West Java Provincial Office of Communication and Informatics.