Head of the Ministry's Character Strengthening Center (Kapuspeka), Rusprita Putri Utami, stated that education in the digital era brings several challenges for students, which can affect both their physical and mental health.
"Today's educational challenges are closely related to the digital era. An issue that we believe is very significant is how children experience gadget addiction; and this greatly affects children's physical and psychological mental health," Utami said during the National Symposium 70th Antarbudaya AFS here on Friday.
According to data from the Indonesian National Police Special Detachment (Densus) 88 Unit, she noted the number of children exposed to radicalism and extremism has increased significantly through online games.
Related news: Indonesia warns online games being used to spread radical ideology
Children addicted to online games, Utami said, tend to become passive individuals and even antisocial when dealing with the real world, despite being highly active in the virtual world.
"Data from Densus 88 shows the number of children exposed to radicalism and extremism issues has also significantly increased through online games," she added.
In addition, Utami said children with online game addiction also have the potential to experience eye health problems as a result of staring at gadget screens for too long without a break.
Such conditions have prompted her office to strengthen children's character education in the school environment through the "The Seven Habits of Great Indonesian Children" (KAIH) movement.
"These seven habits sound very simple, but they are actually very powerful in shaping children's character, starting from independence, self-love, understanding how to care for themselves, understanding how to respect others, and understanding how to cooperate with others," Utami stated.
Related news: Counterterrorism Agency warns of radicalization through online games
Translator: Hana, Kenzu
Editor: Fransiska Ninditya
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