There is a saying in the Javanese language: “Mangan ora mangan asal ngumpul”, roughly meaning : whether we eat or not, it is more essential that we meet. This adage represents the general mind-set of the Indonesian people, more so among the younger generation. Socialisation is the essence of life.

Personal, face-to-face contact and mingling constitute the most pleasurable past-time. Any event would be an excuse for meeting, for gathering, for socializing. The first day of school, the last day of school, the after-school gatherings, the arisan, birthday treat, anything would do.

Memory still lingers on a past era, when mothers were at home to become the central figure, towards where all family members gravitate and the dinner table had been the center where the family bonded. There were practically no gadgets, then. Only the occasional phone call to set the rendezvous and other appointments.

Research shows that in the 1980’s, mothers, women, started to be pulled out of the home-front to participate in more out-of-home activities. The number of working women were on the rise. The hustle and bustle of urban living were pulled away from the home-front. Later on, malls arrived, cafes, restaurant, entertainment centers, places for socialzing and gathering. Private television stations became a novelty, a new change from the long-reigning, one-and-only public television station. Television was the first tool to change the home picture. The family center was not the dinner table anymore. The family room, where the television was located, became the meeting place of family members. At the end of the 80’s, television was the new magnet in the Indonesian household. However, this did not keep the youth in the homes. There were street meets. The “JJS” or jalan jalan sore , meaning afternoon walks. Locations near shopping centers were the place for gatherings. Blok M Kebayoran and Menteng area come to mind. The era of portable radios and walkmans. Music and radio played a big part in the life of youths. Music was a way of life, a channel for emotional experience as well as emotional expression. Radio became segmented. Radio for teens, radio for women, radio for executives. There were even dang-dut radio, jazz radio, and radio for humor.

Then came the 1990’s, the advent of personal computers. Computers came into homes and was not only a tool for working. Computers became affordable. Later on, not only PCs but also the wonders of internet, the cyber superhighway, assailed people’s lives.

The current period has brought the mark of the new millenium. Let us peek into the daily life of the average urban youth.

Findings from several focus group discussions among youths show that gadgets have become an inseparable part of their lives. The most important ones mentioned were the cellular phone, which is more popularly known as the handphone, or hp (“ha-pe”) and the laptop or pc. These gadgets were called their “means for existence”. Probing more into this concept of “existence” for these young people, aged 19 to 23, it seemed that the meaning of “to exist” was to be acknowledged by, accepted by and in contact with friends. Therefore, in their minds, the gadgets were a means to exist. Existing to them, was measured by the quantity of friends. The more one socializes, the more one exists. A typical comment by young people: “ We are seen by the number of friends we have”.

This attitude seems to be behind the sharp increase in the market for telecommunications products. Handphones are used for voice-calls, for sms, for music and for picture taking and picutre sending. The average youth can send sms repeatedly throughout the day, even when in the classroom. The messages sent pertain to the most casual inquiry on “what are you doing right now” to searching for the latest news or gossip. They even admitted that most of the time, the messages were not important, but what was important was the act of contacting. Voice calls through handphones are less frequent than sending and receiving sms. It is apparent that spending limitations for youths has made the pre-paid cards more in demand. The fact that the cards are pre-paid with fixed prices, automatically sets control over the amount of usage and thus the cost spent. In average they would spend from Rp. 30.000 to Rp. 150.000 a month on cell-phone communications. Meanwhile, the price range of the cellpones used range from Rp. 1.5 million to Rp. 2.5 million. Clearly, help is given by the parents in buying the handphones, either in the form of allowance which the young people save up, or by directly buying for them.

Voice-calls are usually made more at night, through their handphones or more often, through the fixed phone at home. Calling through the fixed-phone would be at their parents’ expense. At night, a lot of time is spent for conversing with friends. Much to the distress of their parents, they would call for hours at a time. Late at night, above 10 pm, was the best time for calling, according to these youths.

Laptops and personal computers also have changed the social pattern of the young people.
The top priority for computer usage, other than for school work, is the internet. The internet is used for emailing, for chatting, for online games, for downloading music and for browsing. The most popular sites are those for making new friends or finding old friends, such as the Friendster or the Facebook.

Those who do not have a laptop or do not always have the PC available for their use at home, go to the internet kiosk or ‘warnet’. However, the warnet limit their use, as they have to spend more of their allowance on this. Time spent on the internet is also lengthy, especially when in contact with friends. They would spend up to 2-3 hours on the internet a day. Night time is also considered the best time to open the internet.

The length of time spent on gadgets has its consequences. Less time is spent on the family and less time spent on other media, such as the television, as films as well as news could also be accessed through the internet.

Gadgets surely have changed the life patterns of all, especially of youth. As one youth expressed his dearest wish: every home should have free internet!

Yanti B. Sugarda

This article published in Garuda Magazine - March 2009

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