By: Alfisyah Dianasari )*
The increasingly massive internet penetration has made social media (Medsos) accessible to all parties, including children. Nevertheless, parents and the general public are expected to continue to be vigilant and supervise the use of social media by children, especially from the spread of radical ideas.
The initiator of the National Conscience Movement (GNK), Habib Syakur Ali Mahdi Al Hamid, reminded the government and parents to be aware of the spread of radical ideas through social media. According to him, radical understanding in social media today has the potential to be accessed by everyone, including children.
According to Habib Syakur, ownership of gadgets must be recorded, especially for children. For example, the owner of the device is not allowed for children aged 17 years and under. Those aged 17 years and over are only allowed to be accompanied by parents. Then, restrictions for applications, namely when an application is about to be downloaded by children, must include an identity. If you do not have an ID card, the application cannot be downloaded.
Habib Syakur said, for every application on IOS or whatever, there must be restrictions on the scale of the ID or Student Card data. This Student Card will be connected to the school. Well, this school will later have a database Kemendiknbud.
He also reminded that preventing the spread of radical and intolerant ideas to children requires the involvement of all parties. The Ministry of Education and Culture as an education regulator must also be maximal in overseeing school development by utilizing the student and student data base.
Habib considers that so far the government has not been serious in terms of monitoring social media. The government seems to allow social media to be used as advice on freedom of expression. As a result, not a few millennials are arrogant in using social media. They are also affected by situations that are blinded as if the spiritual need to color the life of the world. This is apparently used by radical groups.
The millennial generation, especially those who don’t have an ID card, of course must be accompanied by their parents in terms of using their gadgets. Because the current situation is as if this millennial generation echoes the thirst for spiritual needs to balance life between this world and the hereafter. Many of them were then brainwashed by the caliphate group. That’s what you really have to watch out for.
Previously, the Head of Sub-Directorate for Counter Ideology Prevented by Densus 88 Anti-Terror Police, Kombes Pol Ponco Ardani said that the most important spread of radicalism was through social media. That’s because, today’s social media can be accessed by all people, including children.
The development and innovation of the world of information technology provides new possibilities for terrorists. Cyberspace is an open-ended environment, a privileged place for terrorists to find new resources. It also allows them to carry out propaganda activities.
The internet, especially social media, offers relatively simple access and unlimited reach. Besides anonymity to hide identity is also very possible to do, it is of course an advantage for radical groups to protect their identity.
The Guardian said nearly 50 percent of French jihadists had a history of petty crimes such as drug use, street fights and at least some involvement in armed robbery. Similar backgrounds are also found in Germany and the United States. They wear branded clothes, baseball caps, face masks and other streetwear models that don’t actually show their Muslim identity.
Of course, these two cases are none other than the existence of social media that offers convenience in spreading propaganda and radical content with just a few clicks. So it is important for parents to be able to accompany their children when they are immersed in the sea of the internet. Parents should be able to determine which content is safe for consumption and which should be avoided.
The bulwark against radicalism propaganda is not only in the government or the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), but also starts from the closest environment such as family. It is important for families to be able to implement healthy internet use, especially for children who still need guidance from their parents.
)* The author is a contributor to the Press Circle and Cikini Students
