Indonesian Television Is Not All That Bad for Teenagers

An Essay Project for LIA Final Test

By :

Sarah Vania Yolanda

Higher Intermediate 4/216

Lembaga Bahasa LIA Pramuka

Topic : Indonesian television (pro)

Thesis statement : Indonesian television is not all that bad for teenagers since they provide

education, moral values, and well-regulated policy.

Body Paragraph 1 :

Topic Sentence : Indonesian television provides education since they enhance teenagers'

knowledge in non-formal and formal education.

Supporting Detail : - non-formal education

- formal education

Body Paragraph 2 :

Topic Sentence : Indonesian television provides moral value to strengthen social values and

giving life guidance.

Supporting Detail : - social programs

- religious programs

Body Paragraph 3 :

Topic Sentence : ​Teenagers do not really have to worry about the quality of Indonesian

television programs because they have implemented well-regulated policies​.

Supporting Detail :- censorship regulation

- ​sanctions

Conclusion

In conclusion, Indonesian television is still preferred media for teenagers since they give general

knowledge, moral value, and good policies.

 Indonesian Television Is Not All That Bad for Teenagers

Indonesian television ​has become quite commonly discussed by society since every household

has one television set at their place.​There has been an ongoing debate on Indonesian television for

teenagers. Some people said ​it was undoubtedly that some people considered Indonesian television bad

for teenagers' growth. There is a research saying that of the 10 events on television, nine of which

contain violence. ​Survey showed that watching a program that contains violence will increase a person's

aggressive behavior. According to Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (KPI), the higher the education status of

people, the smaller the effect of the media to them and vice versa. This shows that Indonesian television

is not enriching the knowledge. Based on the issue, Teenagers are a part of society that suffer​s from the

Indonesian television’s side-effects. ​However, ​during pandemic covid 19, Indonesian Television ​is the

best information source for people since they provide punctual, accountable, and depiction information,

especially for teenagers. They have been more understanding towards the viewers' situation since they

put lots of positive aspects that teens can access. Thus​, I​ ndonesian television is not all that bad for

teenagers since they provide education, moral values, and well-regulated policy​.

First, ​Indonesian television provides education since they enhance teenagers' knowledge in

informal and formal education. Lots of content on Indonesian television strongly supports non-formal

education for teenagers. Music and art programs are the most popular programs that teenagers like.

The programs indirectly assign non-formal education to adolescents. Not only non-formal education but

also formal education that Indonesian television accommodates to elevate teenagers' knowledge.

During pandemic covid 19, teenagers as students should study at home. Indonesian television

cooperates with the government to create formal education content to assist students. They offer

formal education programs for specific lessons and grades starting from Elementary School, Junior High
School, and Senior High School.

Second, ​Indonesian television provides moral value to strengthen social values and give life

guidance. Fast revolutions in information technology have changed the majority of the world

community, especially the behavior of Indonesian youth. Nowadays, many teenagers also follow

western culture because it is more practical and modern. On the other hand, western culture and

revolution of technology make people be individualist and apathetic which makes people have low social

sensitivity. Indonesian television assigns social programs such as social reality shows which present

content “how to help underprivileged people”. Not only affecting social value but also it affects the way

teenagers understand about religion. It has become a tragedy in the current world, where everything is

almost attainable with science, so belief in religion begins to be shifted. Nowadays, belief in God is only

a symbol, its prohibitions and commands are ignored and not needed by teens. Religion programs

provide teenagers life guidance and instill action to better know and practice religious values​. Another

program that provides religious and moral value is religion soap opera which combines real life

problems with religious rules and social values. Tukang Bubur Naik Haji is an example of popular

religious soap opera programs. The program shows that the antagonist character, who often tries doing

something bad towards the protagonist, always gets his own karma. It helps teenagers to understand

religion more easily and moral values.

Last but not least, teenagers do not really have to worry about the quality of Indonesian

television programs because they have implemented well-regulated policies. Indonesian television has

an institution that conducts regulation, supervision and development for each of its programs. The

institution is named Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (KPI). The institution takes preventive action by

establishing censorship regulations to oversee television programs particularly for underage such as kids

and teenagers. Teenagers can not be brainwashed by the program because the institution censors
inappropriate scenes and gives a sign for every content in television such as SU (All Ages), R (Teenager),

D (Adult), and BO (Parental Guidance). Censorship in TV shows is a very important thing to do to keep TV

programs safe for viewers. In addition to the KPI's preventive action, they also carry out repressive

action by imposing sanctions on television programs that violate regulations. Both of these policies are

very helpful in implementing Indonesian television broadcasting systems that are fair and dignified to be

utilized as much as possible for teenagers.

In conclusion, Indonesian Television is still preferred media for teenagers since they give general

knowledge, moral value, and good policies. They have a crucial role in offering communication support

for social and education development of the masses, including teenagers. Indonesian Television is no

doubt an easy source of acquiring knowledge and information so they hold a powerful appeal for

teenagers. Good regulated policies will guide Indonesian Television to create content which does not

give negative impact for teenagers. Thus, ​Indonesian television has increased their quality that is

beneficial for teenagers​.

Reference:

● Moral Pemuda Masa Kini”. (2015, June 17). Retrieved from ​https://www.kompasiana.com/

www.kompasiana.comusman/552aba7d6ea834563c552d1d/moral-pemuda-masa-kini

● Nur Indah Puspitasari. (2014, November 14). “Pengaruh Tayangan Televisi Terhadap Perkembangan

Anak”. Retrieved from ​https://www.kompasiana.com/nurindahp/54f3e0a6745513a42b6c8165

/pengaruh-tayangan-televisi-terhadap-perkembangan-anak

● Rumana. (2019, March 04). “Advantages and Disadvantages of Watching Television”. Retrieved from

https://reelrundown.com/tv/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-watching-Television

● “Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia”.Retrieved from ​http://www.kpi.go.id/index.php/id/visi-dan-misi