INDONESIA: Families flick the switch off for No TV Day this Sunday

Media activists begin nationwide campaign to limit children's exposure to low-quality TV programming

The Jakarta Post
Sunday, July 26, 2009

By Prodita Sabarini

At least 12,000 citizens have pledged their support for the No TV Day on Sunday; there will be no fake crying from soap opera actresses as television sets are switched off in many homes across the country.

In a bid to reduce children's exposure to low-quality television programs, activists are starting this year's nationwide campaign for the No TV Day this Sunday.

The Children's Media Development Foundation (YPMA) along with universities and NGOs have set up the National Coalition for No TV Day in conjunction with National Children's Day on July 23. The coalition is promoting a campaign for parents to turn off their television sets at home and encourage children to get involved in other activities.

For one day, thousands of families will not tune into infotainment presenters espousing the latest showbiz-spin, hours of slapstick comedy or lay people confront their cheating partners on reality TV shows.

Coalition Steering Committee head B. Guntarto said Saturday the campaign was intended to inspire parents to limit their children's exposure to television.

He said that according to YPMA's 2006 study, Indonesian children in cities watched 30 to 35 hours of television a week or 1,600 hours a year, more than they spent studying at school, which adds up to 750 hours per year.

He said that in recent years, programs that were dangerous for children were magical shows.

"Even though these shows are aired at night, there is also a children's version. With children being very curious, showing dangerous scenes such as people being unharmed by sharp knives -- even with warnings -- still gives them the wrong idea," he said.

He said television stations also aired programs such as infotainment, reality shows and soap operas (sinetron) that were inappropriate during the hours children watched television. The coalition utilized the Internet to spread the word about the campaign. Up to Saturday, its Facebook group had more than 12,000 members.

To raise awareness, the coalition carried out a rally with theatrical performances at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout on Friday. He said that on Sunday, the coalition would hold a fun day for the children at the National Monument Park, simultaneously with other cities in Bandung, Bogor, Purwokerto, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya and Makassar.

"It's important for parents to provide alternative activities for their children when they tell their children not to watch television," he said.

Guntarto said that his children, who are in high school and primary school, are now into sports and music, as they do not spend much time watching television.

Despite the campaign, working mother Astri Wahyuni said that she did not know about Sunday being a no TV day. She said that she believed children could learn from the experience and that she would limit the time her 11-month-old daughter would watch TV in the future.

For fifth-grader Zahrah Diva Shasya the idea of not watching television for a day did not bother her. She said she liked to watch cartoons for 2 hours a day, but would not mind not watching them.

"I like to read story books, so if I don't watch television, I read books," she said.

Date Posted: 7/26/2009