JAKARTA: Bradley Rowen Liu, 11, wonders what he will do with himself once Indonesia’s social media ban for under-16s enters into force on Saturday. As things stand, he spends most of his free time on TikTok.

The primary school child is one of about 70 million children the Indonesian government hopes to shield from the threats of cyberbullying, pornography and internet addiction.

Several countries have proposed teen social media bans since Australia’s landmark move in December to stop users under 16 from holding accounts on many popular platforms.

But Indonesia is among the first to act as concerns grow over the impact of such apps on kids’ mental and physical wellbeing.

YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox, deemed “high-risk” platforms by authorities in the Southeast Asian nation, will from Saturday start deactivating underage accounts.

Liu, who says he can easily spend five hours a day on TikTok at weekends, said he worries the ban will leave him driftless.

“Maybe I’ll do some other activities,” he shrugged, without much conviction.

“But I think I’m going to ask my dad or my mom to help me access” the video-sharing app, the boy said after class at a private academy in Jakarta where he learns computer coding.

“Parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm,” communications minister Meutya Hafid said when she announced the ban three weeks ago.

Like in Australia, the Indonesian rules place the onus on platforms to regulate teen access.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2026