Indonesian Children Given Chicks and Seeds to Spend Less Time Online

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An Indonesian city wants students in elementary and middle school to take care of chicks or grow chili plants to reduce the time they spend online. Bandung City in West Java, Indonesia, adopted an initiative called “chickenization” to take children’s attention away from their electronic devices and the Internet. The program requires children to feed their chicks, which they can keep at home or in school, before and after class hours. Aside from taking care of chicks, growing chili plants is another option for students. In the initiative, around 2,000 chicks and 1,500 chili seeds will be handed over to selected elementary schools and junior high schools in Bandung. The Global Digital Report 2019 from social networking site Hootsuite and digital marketing agency We Are Social ranked Indonesia fifth among the world’s heaviest Internet users. On average, Indonesians use the Internet for eight hours and 36 minutes a day, which is more than two hours the daily global average. Bandung City Mayor Oded Danial [dan-YAL] hopes that, through the initiative, children from participating schools will use electronic gadgets less frequently. However, Danial said the local government needs time to assess the program’s effectiveness, so teachers will regularly monitor the growth of students’ chicks and chili plants. A lot of parents are supportive of the government’s initiative. One parent said the program is a good way to discipline children. Another parent believes that taking care of chicks is more worthwhile than using the Internet. Children involved in the program likewise expressed positive reactions. One said he plans to start breeding chickens, and another said he is looking forward to watching his chick grow.