The influence of social network (Facebook) toward the children behaviors in term of their

Cultural Values.

(A case in a small village in Subang)

Siska Amelie Fabiola Deil

(http://www.ateep77.wordpress.com/)

Abstract

Since the numbers of children under thirteen in facebook getting increase, attempt to
find out the impact of facebook toward the teenagers behavior in terms of cultural
values. The researcher also tries to find out whether the impacts resulted in cultural
movement for Indonesian culture become left. The data were gathered by doing
observation, interview, and using questionnaire. The findings show that most
participants who live in this small village got bad impacts of becoming Facebook
users in term of considering cultural values. they tend to leave their own culture.
They behave as they are not children from sundanese culture. It seems to the
researcher that those participants are on their steps of leaving eastern culture and
beginning the western culture.

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 Introduction

Facebook (FB), now has more than 500 million users, a huge number of users
for sure. In Indonesia, It is no longer weird to see children of 7 already become its
member or even an old lady of 69 join it also. Many people use it to broaden their
connection with people, to find their friends, or just don’t want to be left behind in
term of technology development.

The contents of this social network are so attractive for people since you can
express yourself as free as you are. Others also have space to comment/respond for
yours feeling or activity directly and easily. Many games are also provided through
this network. People could meet everyone from all over the world. Pictures uploaded
by the members allow you to get closer with them since you know how they look
like. You can know people’s live without ask them to tell you (you might do
generalizations here). By this, you can know someone’s personality well without
become her close friends (it can be a generalization, too). For example, when you
see a girl with her friends dress in sexy way, you will regard them as naughty girls.

Uploading new pictures of yours in FB is widely done by other members too.

People know love to take pictures everywhere, anytime. Some girls just wear a swim
suit to attract more people to comment on their pictures. Kissing pictures of various
couple; lesbians, gays, or girls and boys, are displayed freely (the researcher found
many kinds of these sexual pictures from Bandung Facebookers). Sometimes, you
also could find your FB friends put rude words on their status as sarcasm to another.

What make it worse is that children can access this social network too,
though FB administrators block the access for the children under 13. Children could
possibly see sensual pictures even though they absolutely do not mean that. Rude
words in others’ status or comments might be considered well-done by those

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 children. In their mind, it is allowed to do since nobody ever warn it. They can
become a “carbon copy” of facebookers’ life styles. It’s no matter if the life styles
were just ok, but it becomes a big matter when it was bad lifestyles which not to be
imitated.

Through this paper, the researcher will then attempt to identify what are the
impacts of the social network to the cultural values of children in a small village in
Subang. It is a hamlet in small sub district in Subang. People living in this hamlet are
dominated by lo-middle class families. Only few of them are considered middle-up
class family. This is a hamlet in which the society works as farmer, gardener, stall
keeper, factory labors, etc. Teenagers living in this place particularly get married
after they graduate from senior high school or go to the factories as labors. Couple of
years ago, the daily activity of children and teenagers in this hamlet was pretty nice.
They went to school together every morning by foot, after going home they gathered
again to play some traditional games; galah asin, benteng, marbles, bancakan, petak
umpet, etc. Finishing playing the games, they went to the mosque after ashar time;
they learn Islamic values there. After magrib they went home and completed their
homework. Those are their daily activities.

Recently, since mobile phones were booming and a cyber net was established in this
place the researcher begin to investigate its impacts toward the society . Since
Facebook influence many people behavior as stated in New York times article. Thus,
through this paper the researcher then attempt to find out the impact of facebook
toward the teenagers behavior in terms of cultural values. The researcher also tries
to find out whether the impacts resulted in cultural movement for Indonesian
culture become more bias.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

Facebook is nothing more than a medium for communication, and yet, it is so

much more than that. At a glance, a user can learn everything from what gender a
Facebook member is, to what religion they believe in, what school they attend, and
their likes and dislikes (Jordon, 2008). Cultural scientists stated that, one thing is for
certain, the use of Facebook repeatedly comes up in discussions about Internet
safety, age-appropriate exposure, and children online behavior. This is the paradox
of ambient awareness. Each little update — each individual bit of social information
— is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. Nora Barnes, 2007 stated
that we need to teach them that NOTHING IS PRIVATE online, especially their social
networks.  We need to show them examples of the serious consequences that have
occurred to those whose egregious online behavior has been made public.  

Every day online there are thousands of kids who say mean and hurtful things
because they can.  They are increasingly living their social lives in a world without
caring, loving adults watching out for them, without expectations for their behavior,
and without boundaries.  Research shows that children grow up healthiest in a world
with love, communication, structure and boundaries.  These qualities hardly exist
online for our children/teens.  Instead, harassing language is normalized, the

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 sexualization of girls/women is common-place, and the lack of supervision creates an
"anything goes" wild-wild-west argued by Susan Molinari, 1996.

The belief that children should be seen and not heard gives rise to a non child
friendly culture. This creates difficulties in everyday living for children and parents
pointed Hayley Nichols, 2008. The popular culture produced for, by, and/or about
children. Children's culture is not "innocent" of adult political, economic, moral or
sexual concerns. Rather, the creation of children's culture represents the central
arena through which we construct our fantasies about the future and a battleground
through which we struggle to express competing ideological agendas.

My arguments about the relationship between computer games and

traditional backyard "boy culture" formed the basis for an interview with Next
Generation magazine which centered around issues of video game violence. In
February 2000, the Comparative Media Studies Program hosted a conference, Video
and Computer Games Come of Age, which brought together leading figures from the
games industry with critics, academics, and the public for two days of intense
conversation about the current state and future directions of this emerging
storytelling medium, said Dr. William Share, 2007.

However, the lack of proper age and identity verification tools on Facebook
make it easy for a child of any age to create an account. Parents have to make it a
point to find out if their child is a Facebook user. They also have to decide whether
their teenager is fully equipped with the knowledge to use Facebook safely without
supervision explained by Iowa University, 2008.

Weding Ponte,2008 also argue that scaring a child or teenager into not using
Facebook is just going to make them want to use it even more. Parents may be able
to stop them from using it at home, but unfortunately, what goes on beyond the
home is out of the parents' hands. Perhaps, the best way to help children use
Facebook or any other Internet site safely is to arm them with the knowledge of
Internet dangers and safe practices.

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 As Ponte argues, we need to lobby politicians to change laws, which has been
successful in changing attitudes towards people with disabilities. But beyond that,
we need to support parents and children and show an awareness and consideration
of their needs, and praise those who do help carry the pushchair down the stairs

Research Methodology

a. Research Design

This research employed qualitative descriptive design. It would be more

satisfying for the researcher having two advantages from conducting this research by
using this qualitative design. First advantage was this design will also cover the
necessary of explaining the general cultural movement symptom shown by the
children. Another reason that goes together supporting this decided design was to
have more critical point of views of children living in villages. They are always
regarded left-behind in term of technology development that actually influences
their cultural behaviors. Regarding as qualitative research, this method also could be
adjusted during the actions of this research.

b. Sample

This qualitative research had 20 children under thirteen as its participants. The
participants were fifth-sixth grade elementary school and first grade junior high
school students. They came from the hamlet discussed above. The participants
consisted of seven boys and thirteen girls. They are selected since the researcher

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 found them commonly go to the cyber net recently established near their houses. It
was also already confirmed that they are Facebook members and regularly check
their FB through their mobile phones.

c. Data Collection

The researcher then gathered the data needed by employing observation and
open-ended interview. To strengthen the findings, the researcher also gave the
questionnaire to the participant in which they were not required to sign their names
on. Observation was done to monitor the participants’ performances in their daily
lives. It is also conducted to have wider understanding on “what’s going on” after
they became members of Facebook. The observation was done for two weeks before
the researcher still found an imprecise answer to what she was seeking for.
Participant observation is regarded in the best position to collect data about the
observable features of their behavior. The observations were useful in term of
comparing the origin culture of children behavior in that place with what was shown
by the participants as the impacts of Facebook. To strengthen the argument of the
researcher, close-ended interview was also employed. Those children were asked
several things related to their daily activities. The questionnaire also investigated
how many times they are online in Facebook, where are the places they used to
online by their mobile phones, who are their friends in the Facebook, do they still
play the traditional games etc.

d. Data analysis

As the result of the observation, the first method, the data were analyzed by
firstly comparing the data collected by the prior culture of children behavior in that
place. It should be done with the focus of the changes before and after the children
became Facebook users. Then the results were classified into several impacts that
show cultural movement that go together with the westernization.

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 Findings and Discussions

a. Findings

According to the data obtained, the researcher found that they tend to show
their behavior changing and the impacts are categorized as cultural movements.
The data then were converted into these following findings:

1. The participants do not know kinds of traditional games except hide and
seek, and playing marbles. They never play traditional games anymore like
bancakan, benteng, gerekan, which parts of our culture. They prefer online
games in their Facebook to traditional games in their place.

2. Most of them seldom go to mosque to have Islamic values learning (because

they do not want to be considered as not-updated person -- “norak”).

3. The participants tend to be individualists since they always stay at home, to

be online in their Facebook through their mobile phones. They seldom gather
with friends because they feel that it will limit her to express her. It is a bit
contradictive with Asian culture as collectivist.

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 4. They lack of real life socialization.

5. They are online when they are in the class. It is matters of respecting others,
in this case their teachers. When they are warned by the teacher, they spoke
rude words to describe their anger. Is it Indonesian culture when children
become so rude? Is it Indonesian culture when children become so impolite
to their teacher, especially as sundanesse whom known as welcome society?

6. Most of them has ever seen sexy or sensual pictures from their facebook

They are lack of having real life communication or let say face to face communication. It is
against the Indonesian culture in which the people like to welcoming foreigners or love to
make friends difference.

b. Discussions

Facebook has on our culture today. Facebook is not working to protect our
children and the laws in our country are inadequate to safeguard our children
online, in general.   Not enough is being done to protect and educate children
and teens against the risks that come from using the Internet, and Facebook in
particular.  Adults, parents, educators need to do more. As the impacts shown in
the findings, the children could not stand to open their facebook continuously.
How about the culture they need to know well. They leave it.

The participants of this research now prefer to make friends and build
relationship through their Facebook. However, we also know that socialization
skills in children are best learned in real life. They will never know how to greet
person in polite ways since they rarely experience that. It is a bit contradictive

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 with sundanesse culture (this hamlet is sundanesse culture) which they always
appreciate newcomers friendly. They will hard to communicate orally since they
usual to communicate in written way.

When children do not play their traditional games, it seems to the researcher
as inappropriate manner in beginning to know their culture. It is a very and basic
way to understand their culture.

For the researcher, it becomes a big question; children may do not know how
to appreciate the cultural values, but how about their parents? Most of children
in this hamlet were grown by permissive parents. The parents lack on pay deep
attention to their children’s activities. Worse than that, some of their parents
proud of the children because they can use computer and internet while the
parents could not as they live in a very small village. It will then softly bias the
culture of this place. It is just fine for right now, but during the time, it will affect
the next generations that they will never prefer traditional game to online
games.

In Sundanesse culture especially, children are well-known loving to help their

parents in many ways. Related to one of findings above, children always check
their facebook so it reduce their time to help their parents. It leads them to
become lazy.

Knowing traditional cultures now is considered as an old passion “Norak” for

children. Facebook seems to open their world window. It is what the researcher
then concern about. The children might know everything that not proper in their
ages. They see sensual pictures that can certainly affect their personality. it is
their first step to leave their eastern culture and begin the western culture. The
researcher do not regard that western culture is bad but leaving our own culture.
The culture in this country is already bias. If the children whom should be
invested by cultural values are already influenced by western culture, then how
our culture would be kept in the future. Because the only one who can keep our
culture is children now and their next generations. Facebook then trigger
western contents to be adopted by children.

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 Most children do not understand that by doing that means they step away from
their identity. As children they tend to imitate what they see and listen. They are
always curious in doing anything new for them include facebook and all of its
contents. While we know that most of Facebook contains mature stuffs.
However we know that children are not selective enough to choose what’s good
and what’s bad for them. Facebook also enable children to express a cultural
identity distinct from their parents’ demand upon them. It can be very different
from what it should be.

They are online when they are in the class. It is matters of respecting others, in
this case their teachers. To say rude words is not this hamlet’s culture. Many
children before them always say polite words to their friends moreover to their
parents or teachers. In contrast, those participants tend to speak rude words
which never be found in schools or from their families. When it was being asked,
they said “We know it from friends in my facebook”. It is impossible to know it
from television because they said “I prefer to be online in my spare times rather
than play with friends of watch movie as what I usually do before I become
facebook users”.

The most crucial thing is that there is no guarantee for children not to be online
since they can falsify their age.

Conclusion

In short, by doing this research, the researcher could answer her questions about the
Facebook’s impact toward children behavior in terms of their cultural values. The researcher
found that it influenced badly to children behavior. The children could not do cultural
adjustment when they become facebook users. What they have done was just imitate every
single thing they adopt from the Facebook.

Since the children are not selective enough, they need parents leading as advisor
toward what they have done. Most children do not understand that by doing that means

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they step away from their identity. As children they tend to imitate what they see and listen.
Another thing is that how to get better protection for children from accessing Facebook.

To conclude, the researcher found it as their first step to leave their eastern culture
and begin the western culture. There is no bad from western culture, what should be
concern is that we will lost our own culture since the keeper (young generation) prefer
western than eastern culture. From this research, the researcher expects that there would
be kinds of solution in order to avoid worse condition that would affect our culture.

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