As Indonesia celebrates its golden youth generation ( Generasi Emas ) leading up to 2045, we must ask: Will we be a nation that nurtures its teenagers, or one that destroys them for sport?
Consider the case of a couple in Bandung whose private chat screenshots were leaked. They became "national clowns" overnight. The boy dropped out of school. The girl was sent to a pondok pesantren (Islamic boarding school) 1,000 kilometers away.
The knee-jerk reaction to criminalize teenage interaction highlights a national anxiety: the collision of Islamic conservatism, traditional adat (customary law), and the unstoppable force of globalized adolescent curiosity. Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, often called the "cyber-pasal" (cyber article), was designed to protect citizens from defamation and fake news. However, it has become a weapon for moral policing.
Jakarta, Indonesia – In the span of a few hours, a blurry video shot on a smartphone can derail a teenager’s future, spark a national debate, and expose the fault lines of modern Indonesian society. The phrase "viral sepasang ABG" (viral a couple of teenagers) has become a recurring headline on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, often accompanied by moral outrage, memes, and police reports.
The internet has no amnesia, but Indonesian society offers no digital rehabilitation. Once a sepasang ABG is viral, they are permanently branded "nakal" (naughty or delinquent), reducing their future prospects for education and marriage. Social Issue #3: The Hypocrisy of Consumption While the public demands punishment, the data tells a different story. According to a 2023 study by the University of Indonesia’s Center for Social Psychology, 83% of viral ABG content is shared by adults aged 25–45. The same individuals who comment "Astaghfirullah" (Oh God, forgive me) are the primary distributors of the content.
An ABG is a child. They are impulsive, curious, and terrified of adult judgment. When you click "share" on that video, you are not a moral guardian; you are a participant in child abuse.
