Minister asks parents to aware on four digital risks for children

These include not only mental health issues but also physical problems

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid highlighted four key indicators that parents need to recognize in keeping their children safe while they are online.

Hafid mentioned the four indicators—contact, content, addiction, and health—refer to risks that may be encountered by the children when accessing digital platforms and also serve as parameters for assessing the risk profiles of digital platforms regulated by Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on Electronic System Governance for Child Protection (PP Tunas).

"The first one is contact. This posses a risk in the digital space since there are so many underage children who can come into contact and communicate with strangers," Hafid said here on Monday.

Contact is also one of the indicators established by the government to determine whether a platform poses a high risk to children, she added.

The second one is content, which parents need to be aware of when allowing their children to access digital platforms. Hafid emphasised parents must ensure that the digital platforms used by their children do not contain harmful content, such as pornography, violence, or misinformation.

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Then, the third indicator is addiction.

She explained the government has observed this trend frequently in recent times, as more children are connecting to the digital world but accessing it unwisely and excessively without proper guidance. This warrants close attention as it impacts many aspects of a child’s life, including their quality of life.

"So, the content itself might not be the issue, there might be no explicit material, but by rapid scrolling, children could become addicted. This is just as dangerous as other forms of addiction," Hafid said.

The final one is health. When children are constantly exposed to the high-risk digital platforms, she said they will pay the price in terms of both physical and mental health issues.

Parents should be aware of those risks when allowing their children to use digital devices, so they can continue to supervise their children wisely.

"These include not only mental health issues but also physical problems, ranging from eye strain to back problems and others," Hafid noted.

With parents actively involved in guiding their children in the digital space, the government expected the PP Tunas will be implemented more effectively to protect children under the age of 16 when they are online. The number of children in this age group is projected to reach 70 million by 2026.

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Translator: Livia, Kenzu

Editor: Fransiska Ninditya

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