Parents’ Awareness of Social Media Impact on Adolescents’ Mental Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case from Indonesia.

Abstract

Indonesia, like other developing countries, has an incredible excitement for the internet, even though some parts remain designated as the digital divide. However, the pandemic condition has created a new normal in which digital technology has become a way of life, even among adolescents. The goal of this study is to look into parents’ awareness of the impact of social media use on adolescent mental health by focusing on: parents’ understanding of the internet and social media and its impact; actions to anticipate the negative effects of social media use; and dominant values that influence the process of anticipating the negative impact of the internet and social media use among adolescents. Based on the study, parents were surprised to adjust to the new normal because of the generation gap; the actions taken are more preventive by providing understanding to their children regarding the threat of social media to their various mental problems even though no special restrictions have been placed since the pandemic situation has created a paradox that does not allow them to limit the use of smartphones; the dominant values that become the main motivation for parents in dealing this situation were religious.