Millennials Must Become Frontline Guards Against Hoax With Positive Content For the Success of the 2019 Election
By: Alinda Destrianti
Millennials are those born between 1980 and 2000. This generation is considered the generation of digital literacy. They often rely on digital devices in their daily activities. However, despite digital literacy, does that mean they have no weaknesses?
According to several surveys conducted by several online media and institutions that research the Millennials, it was found that the Millennial generation will be the main target of fraud and hatred because certain stakeholders recognize that Gen-M will form a vote of more than 50% in elections will be implemented soon.
In relation to the upcoming 2019 election, the most troubling thing to date is the rise of hoax news spread in cyberspace. If this is not immediately addressed, it does not rule out the possibility that peaceful elections will not be created because the virtual world controlled by Millennials is only filled with false news that seriously injures human values.
So what steps should the country take to overcome the spread of news hoaxes in cyberspace? I think the steps below represent enough as a first step in eradicating false news on social media for Millennials.
Awaken the Importance of Literacy
In the matter of interest in reading, only 5.3 percent of all the Millennials of Indonesia are interested in reading news that stops on their social media pages. This is of course very unfortunate given that the future of this nation is in their hands. This situation will also have an impact on the dissemination of false news on social media.
When they see news headlines that look interesting, they will just spread it without reading the contents of the news. That is why growing interest in reading the Millennials of Indonesia is very important and steps that must be taken.
Grow Filter Awareness before Sharing
After the first step is fulfilled, the next step that can be taken to quell false news in cyberspace is to foster filter awareness before sharing for millennial generations.
As the reading interest of the Millennials of Indonesia has grown, the government must emphasize the importance of filtering all the news they read before they decide to spread it on the Millennial Generation social media accounts.
Urging Millennials to Participate in War Against Hoaxes
When the interest in reading has been high and the awareness to filter before spreading has grown, the next thing the government can do is involve the Millennials to fight against the false news on social media that is very troubling.
I feel that if these three things have been fulfilled it is not impossible that the 2019 general election will run in an orderly and peaceful manner that will automatically participate in supporting the sustainability of national leadership. For that, let us social media activists to spread positive content in the form of prayer for the success of the 2019 Election which is peaceful and dignified and the realization of national development sustainability through the continuation of quality national leadership.
The author is a Student of Yogyakarta State Islamic University