Online all the time: Youth and The New Media

A while ago, one of my friends, Alanda Kariza, encouraged me to participate on a blog competition held by The Indonesian Youth Conference. I kept on saying that I didn't want to, I just didn't feel like I had any ideas what to write. But then after some consideration, I finally decided to give it a try. The essay follows this intro, and I'm sorry there are no photos in this post. I'll update again in a couple of days with some of my all-time favorite photos from the past. Read on everyone, your comment would be a delight!

P.S : Have we met on Twitter yet?

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"Online all the time: Youth and The New Media. The impact of social networking and the online world on Indonesian culture"

Nowadays, internet seems to be a vital need for everyone. Ever since the innovation of social networking websites, more and more people got involved in the use of the internet. It was years ago when I was first aware of the internet and what it offers. Not only that I feel that it is the best search engine ever, it is also the media for me to find my friends and (sometimes) interesting strangers. As a teenager, being on a social networking website is pretty much a common thing. It's like, you can totally find anyone there, anyone! By being on these sites such as Friendster, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,etc., information about everyone on it is easily reachable. Personally, I have found that these sites have influenced me a lot in my daily life. Without any scientific reason, I feel like I always have a need to be online to check on updates on my friends' online profiles.

What? What do we teenagers do on the internet? We do all sorts of stuff, but generally, we socialize (as what those social networking sites are created for). A weird fact about how important the internet is to our lives-- it's crucial! Even though we know we won't die without it. I might say some parents (who aren't on the internet) are concern with this fact. Most teenagers prefer to stay at home in front of the computer rather than riding their bike in the afternoon. Not to mention, it has been said that teenagers no longer cherish their backgrounds & cultures.

If I had to donate my voice, I'd strongly say that I'm a very proud Indonesian and I disagree. Okay fine, so less teenagers go to traditional dancing lessons, listen to keroncong music or dye Batik patterns on textiles in this century. But it doesn't mean that we don't treasure our roots. Even though, frankly, sometimes I feel weird when I see my little cousins all hyped on the internet, while I remember that at their age, I was one of the best "Tak Jongkok" players. But even so, I'm also glad that we're no longer left behind from other developed countries. And yet, we can actually promote our culture through the internet so people from around the world can see what a beautiful country we're from.

Before writing this essay, I thought a had a clear idea about this particular topic. But apparently, I didn't. All I'm saying right now seriously comes out directly from my heart to a blank page of my notepad. And I'm even constantly checking my Twitter updates while typing. But hey, what's wrong about that? I wouldn't ever make any judgement whether the impact of the internet on our culture is negative nor positive. I'd say it's a matter of perspective. From where I stand, as an active user of the internet and as an Indonesian, I admit that I might have less knowledge about the culture my ancestors have left me, but because of the wonders of the internet, I can easily catch up and do some research about them. I can even discover so many random facts about my country. And I know that I'm not the only teenager who thinks so. All those school home works and college papers discussing the Indonesian culture; I guess that most of us students do our research on the internet! Sometimes Indonesian teenagers even discuss the matters of this country on their blogs, online profiles, and even while chatting on the web messenger. Internet has changed our centuries-old culture, but it doesn't mean that the online world has made a barrier for us to not be able to learn them. The online world has become one of our cultures! In fact, the online world has made us, the teenagers of Indonesia, unite much more easily than ever before. For that, I can't wait till this technology spreads throughout the whole nation to the most remote areas, so we can all take joy in the use of the internet.

So, who's with me? What would you say about the impact of the online world on Indonesian culture?