PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF MEDIA AND PARENTAL MEDIATION OF MEDIA USE a STUDY OF INDONESIAN MUSLIM MOTHERS IN MEDIATING THEIR CHILDRENS TELEVISION AND INTERNET USE

PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF MEDIA AND
PARENTAL MEDIATION OF MEDIA USE:
A STUDY OF INDONESIAN MUSLIM MOTHERS IN
MEDIATING THEIR CHILDREN’S
TELEVISION AND INTERNET USE

RAHAYU

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

2012


ii

PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF MEDIA AND
PARENTAL MEDIATION OF MEDIA USE:
A STUDY OF INDONESIAN MUSLIM MOTHERS IN
MEDIATING THEIR CHILDREN’S
TELEVISION AND INTERNET USE

RAHAYU
B.A. (Hons) and M.Si (Hons), Gadjah Mada University

A THESIS SUBMITTED
FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIA
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

2012

iii

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Associate Professor
Sun Sun Lim, for being a wonderful advisor and mentor throughout my thesis writing
at National University of Singapore. I admire her as a scholar and appreciate her
support, help, and guidance, which enabled me to complete graduate school at the
Department of Communication and New Media. She encouraged me to publish my
research and to attend my first international conference. She is always there, to
provide me with a listening ear, advice, support, and friendship. She goes out of her
way to help with her expertise. She has been a wonderful mentor from when we met.
She has been most influential in inspiring me in terms of academic writing,
publication, and her passion in encouraging and empowering students; these are
meaningful to me as an academic.
It would not have been possible to make it through graduate school without
the support of my colleagues and friends. I would like to express my deepest thank
you to my guru, Amir Effendi Siregar, for his support and friendship over the years.
I admire his belief, concern, and consistency to realize diversity of media and its
ownership in Indonesia, which inspired me to conduct media research that contributes
to public lives. I appreciate his support and help in handling difficulties during my
studies at NUS. He is a good motivator, and always reminded me to stay strong,
patient, and positive, and to pursue my dream to further my studies.
I would also like to record my ―thank you‖s to:


Professor Dr. Pratikno, for writing the recommendation for my
scholarship application. I appreciate his attention and willingness to

iv

support me.


Professor Dr Nunung Prajarto, who motivated me not to be satisfied
with a Master‘s degree, and to continue with my studies.



Novi Kurnia and Dr. Dodi Ambardi, for their friendship and sharing of
their stories, especially in regard to their PhD experiences.



Budhy K, for his unique sense of humor and greeting that always made
me smile, even under the most stressful circumstances. He is one of the
reasons I miss Yogyakarta, and why I constantly find excuses to return.



Pujirianto, Wisnu Martha Adiputra, Iwan A.Y. and all friends for
their constant reminders about PKMBP, where we spent several years
promoting media literacy program and media professionalism.



My research assistants, for their insights on the research findings.

On a personal note, my deepest thanks, love, and appreciation to:


My parents, for inspiring me not to give up even when the going gets
tough, and for supporting me spiritually and financially during my course
of study. They exemplify the many ordinary Indonesians who care about
their children‘s education and future, and have dedicated their lives to
putting their children‘s interest and future ahead of their own. My parents‘
belief in me, and in my education, is the most valuable gift.



My sweet and lovely daughters, Mira and Dhira, for bringing so much
joy, laughter and happiness to my life. They are strong, responsible,
understanding, and independent, and that has enabled me to focus on my
study. With limited supervision, their achievements have motivated me to
push ahead in my studies and advance in my career. They are why I had to


v

complete my Master‘s at NUS. I dedicate this thesis to my daughters.


Mas Aryadi Subagyo, for his support and advice on life, and his constant
reminders that challenge is always given (by God) to make us stronger and
more resilient.



Budi Irawanto, for his concern and ready advice on how to do better in
my studies and gain the confidence to publish my research. His wife, Fifi,
for showing me how to allocate my limited budget wisely, and where to
shop. Their warmth and kindness to my family, and our time together, has
made them a part of our extended family.



My fellow graduate students in Communication and New Media,
especially Cheryll, Yuanying, and Chengting, for their friendship,
motivation, and constant reminders to take care of myself physically and
emotionally; Jhee for sharing literature, Pitra for lending me his thesis for
reference, Retna for her patient assistance in helping me handle
administrative issues.



All the librarians at the Central Library, for helping me find literature.

The findings from this study were presented at The Asian Conference on
Media and Mass Communication 2011 (MediAsia 2011) in Osaka Japan, November
4-6, 2011. The support and feedback received has enhanced this thesis. Besides, some
parts of the findings will be presented at the Conference on Communication and
Community-International Communication Association (ICA) in Phoenix Arizona
USA, May 24-28, 2012 and the 21st AMIC Annual Conference in Shah Alam
Selangor Malaysia, July 11-14, 2012.


vi

Summary

As the use of media and technology in everyday life continues to intensify,
parents are increasingly concerned about negative media effects and seek to impose
parental mediation to control their children‘s use of the media. This study attempts to
explore parental mediation by Muslim mothers in Indonesia as they seek to supervise
their children‘s consumption of television and the Internet. Religious beliefs are a
central issue in this study because most previous studies use it narrowly as a simplistic
demographic measure. Yet, religious beliefs warrant greater scrutiny, because of its
influence in shaping parental attitudes towards child-rearing, media content and
supervision of media use. Furthermore, growing trends towards greater religiosity in
some parts of the world add further urgency to the study of this issue. Given the
salience of Islam in the lives of Muslim mothers in Indonesia, this particular group
constitutes an appropriate sample population for understanding the impact of religious
beliefs on parental mediation of children‘s media consumption.
Data were collected from 70 Muslim mothers in Yogyakarta in Indonesia
through ethnographic interviews to investigate the mothers‘ perceptions of media and
their mediation practices and to understand how media devices and their use are
incorporated into the families‘ everyday lives and, above all, to understand the overall
influence of religious beliefs on the aforementioned.
Findings revealed that informants perceived television and the Internet both
positively and negatively, although negative perception dominated their media
criticism, with consequences on parental mediation practices reflecting a dilemma
between using the technology to increase the children knowledge, skills and social
mobility, and limiting the technological access to protect them from the negative


vii

influences from the media. This study shows that informants tended to apply a mix of
parental mediation styles between restrictive, co-viewing and restrictive mediation.
Mothers in this study were more involved in mediating their children‘s television use;
meanwhile, fathers were more active in supervising the children‘s Internet access,
especially in terms of introducing this new technology, mastering the technology use,
and criticizing its content. The mothers‘ familiarity or unfamiliarity with the media, as
well as their knowledge and skill in using the media, determined the extent to which
the mothers were in charge of supervision. The mothers‘ choice of mediation styles
was influenced by parents‘ and children‘s attributes and household conditions. This
study suggests that religious beliefs play a key role in parents‘ perception of the media
and parental mediation practices. This study shows how religious beliefs influenced
the informants in setting time for media access, selecting the content, and constructing
their framework for criticizing the media and developing arguments or reasons in their
supervision based on religious values.


viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...........................................................................

iii

SUMMARY ..................................................................................................

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ viii
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................

ix

LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................

x

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................

1

1.1. Indonesia‘s Evolving Media Landscape ..........................................
1.2. Islamic Perceptions of Television and Internet ................................
1.3. Muslim Women‘s Position in Indonesian Society and
Their Role on Parental Mediation ....................................................

3
5

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................

9

7

2.1. Motherhood and Media Use.............................................................
9
2.2. Mothers‘ Perceptions of Media and Its Influence on Parental Mediation
Practices ........................................................................................... 11
2.3. Parental Mediation of Their Children‘s Media Use ......................... 15

2.4. Household Factors, Children‘s Attributes and Various
Styles of Mediation .......................................................................... 18
2.5. Peer Groups: Factors in Parental Mediation .................................... 21
2.6. The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Parental Mediation .............. 22
2.7. Research Questions 1 to 4 ................................................................ 25

CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ......................................

27

3.1. Ethnographic Interviews Defined and Reasons for Choosing
This Method .....................................................................................
3.2. Seven Stages in the Ethnographic Interview ...................................
3.3. Criteria for Informants and Recruitment Process ............................
3.4. Profile of Informants ........................................................................
3.5. Description of Research Location ....................................................
3.6. Data Collection Procedures..............................................................
3.7. Data Analysis Procedures ................................................................

27
28
31
32
34
35
38


ix

CHAPTER 4. PARENTAL PERCEPTION OF TELEVISION
AND PARENTAL MEDIATION OF CHILDREN’S
TELEVISION USE ..........................................................................
4.1.
4.2.
4.3.
4.4.

Television Use Habits and Patterns in Muslim Families .................
Muslim Mothers‘ Perception of Television .....................................
Parental Mediation Strategies of Children‘s Media Use..................
Household Factors ...........................................................................
4.4.1. Family Income .........................................................................
4.4.2. Mother‘s Occupation Trait ......................................................
4.4.3. Family Structure and Communication ....................................
4.5. The Influence of Peer Group on Parental Mediation of Children‘s
Television Use .................................................................................
4.6. The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Parental Mediation of
Children‘s Television Use................................................................
4.7. The Summary of Findings ...............................................................

CHAPTER 5. PARENTAL PERCEPTION OF TELEVISION
AND PARENTAL MEDIATION OF CHILDREN’S
INTERNET USE ..............................................................................
5.1.
5.2.
5.3.
5.4.

40

40
43
49
59
59
60
60
62
63
69

70

Internet Use Habits and Patterns in Muslim Families .....................
Muslim Mothers‘ Perception of the Internet....................................
Parental Mediation Strategies of Children‘s Internet Use ...............
Household Factors ...........................................................................
5.4.1. Family Income ........................................................................
5.4.2. Mother‘s Occupation Trait ......................................................
5.4.3. Family Structure and Communication ....................................
5.4.4. Time of Having Home Internet Access ..................................
5.5. The Influence of Peer Group on Parental Mediation of Children‘s
Internet Use .....................................................................................
5.6. The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Parental Mediation of
Children‘s Internet Use ....................................................................
5.7. Balancing the Desire for Media Consumption and Religious
Proclivity ..........................................................................................
5.8. The Summary of Findings ...............................................................

70

74
80
84
84
85
86
87

CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION ...................................................................

96

6.1.
6.2.
6.3.
6.4.
6.5.

Summary of Research Findings .......................................................
Implications for the Field of Communication and Media Studies ...
Practical Implications.......................................................................
The Limitations ................................................................................
Directions for Future Research .......................................................

87
88
91
94

96

101
102
103
104


x

REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 105

APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW GUIDE ...................................................... 121

APPENDIX B. DATA RESPONDENTS .................................................. 125


xi

List of Tables

Table 1: Seven Stages in the Ethnographic Interview ..................................

30

Table 2: Profiles of Informants .....................................................................

33


xii

List of Figures

Figure 1: Family of respondent 61: children watching TV for relaxation and
entertainment...................................................................................... 46

Figure 2: Family of respondent 52: children and mother watching TV for
rest and entertainment ........................................................................

47

Figure 3: Living room of respondent 19: TV in living room to facilitate
parental control ..................................................................................

54

Figure 4: Living room of respondent 44: TV and Internet ...........................

54

Figure 5: Living room of respondent 53: TV and Internet ...........................

55

Figure 6: Study room of respondent 38: Internet cable box .........................

81

Figure 7: (Parents‘) bedroom of respondent 51: Internet cable box .............

81

1

CHAPTER 1
Introduction

In many countries, there is an observed and established relationship between
the governments‘ intensified efforts at economic development, particularly within the
media and information technology sectors, and citizens‘ motivation to adopt
multimedia. In Indonesia, the media industry has continued to proliferate after the
1998 Reformasi (political transformation), resulting in many Indonesians, including
children, consuming various media (Sarwono, Hendriyani & Guntarto, 2011). Many
now recognize that media and technology impact their lives, in a positive, as well as
negative, way (Sarwono, Hendriyani & Guntarto, 2011; Nur, 2011). Many parents
becoming increasingly concerned about the negative effects and seek to impose
parental mediation to control their children‘s use of the media (Nur, 2011; Media
Indonesia, 2009; Kompas, 2009). In Indonesia, the growing use (and abuse) of media,
especially television and the Internet, by Indonesian children has stoked debate within
the country about the need for greater parental mediation of children‘s television and
the Internet use, especially with regard to adult and violent content, and access to
online pornography and other deleterious content (e.g. Mulkan, 2007; Suara Karya,
2010). Not surprisingly, the polemic surrounding these issues has taken on a distinctly
moralistic and religious tone, because Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country.
This study attempts to explore parental mediation by Muslim mothers as they
seek to supervise their children‘s consumption of television and the Internet. The
study targeted mothers as participants because Indonesia‘s cultural and ideological
norms dictate that within the household, mothers are to play a key role in supervising

2

their children (Fealy & White, 2008; Ida, 2009). In this study, religious belief
becomes a central issue because it influences and shapes parental attitudes towards
child-rearing, media content and their supervision of media use. In many previous
studies, religious belief was narrowly defined as a simplistic demographic measure,
but its impact on parental mediation has been largely overlooked. In various parts of
the world, growing trends toward greater religiosity have added further urgency to the
study of this issue. Among Muslim mothers in Indonesia, Islam is an important and
innate part of their lives, which makes this particular group an appropriate and
relevant population sample for understanding the impact of religious beliefs on
parental mediation of children‘s media consumption. Specifically, this study seeks to
understand the strategies that Indonesian mothers employ to mediate their children‘s
use of television and the Internet and how their religious beliefs influence these
strategies. Data and analysis were based on ethnographic interviews with 70 Muslim
mothers who resided in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, at the time of the study.
This study focused on mothers‘ mediation of children‘s television and Internet
use and contributes to the body of knowledge in the following ways: firstly, this study
looks at religious belief as an influential factor in determining mothers‘ mediation
practices within a religious community. This study provides an added perspective to a
little-studied area of communication, showing the reality of parental mediation
practices in Indonesia, where Muslims form the majority of the population. This study
analyzes, for the first time in Indonesia, the influence of Muslim mothers‘ religious
beliefs on their mediation of children‘s media use. Secondly, the use of ethnographic
interviews in this study further develops the field of parental mediation studies,
offering deeper insights into respondents‘ experiences and behavior.
This chapter contains four topics: (1) Indonesia‘s evolving media landscape;


3

(2) Islamic perceptions of television and the Internet; and (3) the Muslim woman‘s
position within Indonesian society and their parental mediation strategies. By
explaining these topics, I attempt to provide a comprehensive background to this
study.

1.1. Indonesia’s Evolving Media Landscape

The fall of President Suharto in 1998 marked the beginning of a new era in
Indonesia. Referred to as Reformasi, this political shift also democratized and
liberalized the media industry, ushering in dramatic changes to the media landscape
(Hidayat, 2003; Hill & Sen, 2007; Kitley, 2000). This transformation also stimulated
the growth of the television and Internet industries. The number of television
broadcasting companies grew sharply from 28 in 1998 to 228 in 2008 (Minister of
Communications and Informatics of the Republic of Indonesia, 2008). Of the
estimated 201.4 million television viewers in 1997, 65 million (about a third of the
total number of viewers) are children (Gazali, 2004). The number of Internet hosts
increased from 21,052 in 1999, to 46,000 in 2001, while the number of users rose
from an estimated 900,000 in 1999, to 4 million in 2001 (Directorate General of Post
and Telecommunications, The Republic of Indonesia, 2001), and 25 million in 2007
(APJII, 2007). In addition, the number of Internet cafes (Warnet/Warung Internet)
increased from 2,500 in 2001, to 6,000 in 2004 (Siregar, 2008). Moreover, as of 2010,
there were 21 million Facebook users, 5.6 million Twitter users, and 2.7 million
bloggers (Minister of Communications and Informatics of the Republic of IndonesiaDirjen Aplikasi Telematika, 2010). These trends are likely to rise further in light of the
Indonesian government‘s policy to accelerate information and communications


4

technologies (ICTs) utilization in Indonesia.

On the domestic front, households with children have been caught up in the
television and Internet wave. Recent studies show that the majority of Indonesian
children watch television for about two to seven hours a day, and access the Internet
from home for about two hours a day, with Internet cafés and schools being
alternative sites of access (see Nur, 2011; Sarwono, Hendriyani & Guntarto, 2011).
They watch various programs on TV such as cartoons, serial drama, movies, reality
shows and other programs containing adult and violent content. They use the Internet
mostly for online gaming, researching school projects, chatting, email, and
downloading media content. Notably, these studies also suggest that many children
access the Internet unsupervised and without any parental rules or supervision. Some
of the children admitted to having viewed pornographic content. A number of them
have their own Facebook accounts even though they are ‗under-aged‘ (below 13 years
old) (Nur, 2011; Sarwono, Hendriyani & Guntarto, 2011). Facebook‘s privacy policy
states that individuals aged 13 years and above are eligible to have their own
Facebook accounts.
Resonating with the experience in other countries, the growing use of the
television and the Internet by Indonesian children has raised concerns about their
exposure to unsavory or frivolous content that contains too much sex, violence,
mysticism and hedonism and about the deleterious effects of such content on them.
Various experts have expressed similar views, including the chairman of Aisyiyah
(women‘s wing of the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia,
Muhammadiyah) on July 9, 2011, and other leaders from Islamic organizations
(). Such apprehensions have been reflected in
parental pressure on the state to more actively control the Internet and to introduce


5

media literacy education in a more systematic and comprehensive manner. In
response to public pressure, on August 11, 2010, just one day before Ramadan, the

Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Communication and Informatics,
instructed six of the largest Internet Service Providers in the country (Indosat, Indosat
Mega Media, XL Axiata, Telkomsel, Bakrie Telecom, and PT Telkom) to
block access to online porn content. Other service providers were later asked to do the
same. However, the government‘s policy to block access to porn led to public
criticism. Not long after, the Ministry introduced an Internet literacy program entitled
―Internet Sehat dan Internet Aman” (Healthy and Safe Internet), to apprise young
people on how to use the Internet in a more positive manner, such as advising them to
avoid deleterious content and choose a more pro-social orientation. Schools were also
provided with Internet filtering software to prevent access to online pornographic
content within the school environment.

1.2. Islamic Perceptions of Television and Internet

Islam being Indonesia‘s dominant religion, practiced by 88.22% (216 million)
of the total population of 245 million (Board of Statistic, 2005), it was not surprising
to note that the Islamic community has been the most vocal and fervent in its criticism
of media content. As Stout (2001) noted, Islamic criticisms of the media stem from
the perceptions that messages contained within popular media conflict with Islam‘s
moral beliefs and values. In particular, pornographic content online and in mainstream
media is believed to cause a decline in Islamic devotees‘ moral and religious
commitment (Fealy & White, 2008). Furthermore, Western media are believed to
propagate prejudicial representations of Islam and Muslims that discredit the religion


6

and undermine its global standing (Agung, 2010; Mir-Hosseini, 1988).
Despite these reservations about media content and their dissemination
platforms, such as print and broadcast media, Indonesian Muslims have been

enthusiastic adopters of the Internet and other forms of new media such as the mobile
phone (Fealy & White, 2008). Some Indonesian da‟i (preachers) use the Internet and
mobile phone text messages to improve the effectiveness of their dakwah (preaching)
and to deliver religious services. In addition, some Islamic schools have developed
Internet e-learning applications to socialize teachers and students on the central tenets
of their faith. Such examples instantiate Stout‘s (2001) claim that Muslims ―create
variations in the ways popular culture is defined and used‖ (p. 9).
Within the Islamic community, there are differing opinions on how media
content should be regulated. With regard to the Internet, in particular, radical and
extremist Islamic groups such as Laskar Jihad (Jihad Brigade) and Front Pembela
Islam (FPI, Islamic Defense Front) propose that the Indonesian government impose
strict censorship on the media, including television programs and other visual images,
and banning pornographic websites (Lindsay, 2011). In contrast, other Islamic groups
such as Aisyiyah prefer to leave the regulating of the Internet and its users within the
private realm of the household and public empowerment. This organization actively
campaigns for media literacy education in schools and Islamic study groups
(pengajian) that can empower Internet users to be critical of the medium (Nur, 2011).
This organization uses the Qur‟an and Hadith (a report of the words and deeds of the
Prophet Muhammad transmitted through a chain of narrators) as the basis for such
educational initiatives. Meanwhile, the Indonesian society holds normative
expectations that Indonesian women serve as the key managers of the household and
the primary nurturers of children, making the women the logical targets of media


7

literacy campaigns in Indonesia (e.g., Fadhal, Zarkasi & Agustin, 2011; Guntarto,
2011; Nur, 2011).

1.3. Muslim Women’s Position in Indonesian Society and Their Role on Parental

Mediation

To better comprehend the burdens placed on Indonesian Muslim mothers visà-vis parental mediation of their children‘s media use, we must first consider their
position in Indonesian society and, more specifically, within Muslim households.
Although the last few decades have seen a dramatic increase in the number of
Indonesian women participating in the labor force (Statistic-Indonesia, 2010), along
with changes in the perceptions of women, nevertheless, expectations remain that
women serve mainly in the domestic realm (Ida, 2009). Two dominant yet opposing
views of women‘s position in Indonesian society prevail. On the one hand, women are
perceived as being of inferior status to men, thereby relegating them to playing purely
domestic roles. Conversely, women are viewed as being equal to men, deemed
capable of performing professional and public duties. Before Reformasi, especially
under Suharto‘s New Order regime, the role of women in Indonesian society was
determined within the context of national development goals (Gardiner, 2002; Ida,
2009). ―Women were assigned the role of their kodrat (inherent nature) and were
responsible for household matters, reproduction, and family nurturing‖ (Ida, 2009, p.
15). Even though women were identified in development programs as equal partners
of men and worked outside the home, their position in society continued to be
constrained by male-imposed ideas about women‘s nature, dignity and status (Ida,
2009). After Reformasi, the position of women in Indonesian society began to


8

challenge the traditional model of patriarchal domination. In this new era, sociopolitical and economic changes have encouraged Indonesian women to gain access to
education and to enter the work force and political arena (Ida, 2009). However, many
women still face a dilemma between their ―domestic‖ and ―public‖ roles, and their
efforts to balance the two sometimes result in domestic disputes and even violence
(Subiantoro, 2008; Sudarto, 2008).
Beyond broader societal conceptions, Islamic values also prescribe and

proscribe the status and role of Indonesian Muslim women. Competing interpretations
of the Qur‟an, Hadith, and Figh (Islamic jurisprudence on the interpretation of the
holy Qur‟an and Hadith) have ignited debates (see Bano, 2003; Doorn-Harder, 2002),
with some believing that women should be confined to domestic tasks, while others
believe that women can play constructive roles in the public realm. Nevertheless, new
trends in the interpretations of the Qur‟an on gender issues have brought about an
advancement of women‘s positions in Islamic society (see Kazmi, 1994; Stowasser,
1998). In Islam, the family is considered a pillar in developing Islamic society, with
women playing a crucial ―guide keeper‖ role in the family in socializing children on
Islamic beliefs and values. In the midst of a media-saturated world in which the media
appear to wield a strong influence on children‘s development, in some ways perceived
as displacing the parent in a child‘s life, Muslim women‘s task to supervise their
children‘s media use remains even more challenging.


9

CHAPTER 2
Literature Review

This chapter reviews relevant literature focusing on motherhood and media
use, mothers‘ perceptions of media, parental mediation of children‘s media use, and
the influence of household factors, children‘s attributes, peer groups and religious
beliefs on parental mediation practices. This section ends with a discussion on the gap
in the literature, followed by a list of research questions.

2.1. Motherhood and Media Use

Studies of mothers and their adoption of information and communications
technologies (ICTs) for household use in various contexts have shown that mothers

utilize media to support their parental obligations. For example, mothers in the United
States have used Sesame Street and popular situation comedies to introduce concepts
such as numbers and colors and to explain how a good character performs (Stoneman
& Brody, 1982). Dutch mothers have improved on their Internet skills to help their
children excel in school (Hynes & Rommes, 2006). Similarly, mothers in Australia
have recognized the usefulness of the Internet when they assisted their children in
their schoolwork (Singh, 2001).
Even though mothers recognize the value in adopting ICTs for their families,
they may not have the authority to decide on the household‘s ICT purchases. In some
contexts, these decisions are made based on the traditional family role structures. For
example, in Korea, the decision-making on products for family use, such as


10

computers, is primarily dominated by men (Na, 2001; Na, Son & Marshall, 1998).
Indonesian Muslim women‘s (i.e., mothers‘) lack of authority in making
decisions with regard to their family‘s ICT access is set within the social and cultural
constraints in which women are traditionally positioned in domestic-oriented roles.
Some scholars (e.g., Frissen, 2000; Kulik, 2004; Miyoko & Yutaka, 2008; Rakow &
Navarro, 1993) pointed out that social expectations and cultural conventions still have
an impact on women‘s status and position in society. Although job opportunities for
women have increased, along with the number of women in the workforce, this group
still bears the brunt of domestic responsibilities such as managing domestic chores
and childcare. This prevailing trend determines the role women play in adopting
household ICTs and in supervising their children‘s use. Mothers tend to be more
involved than fathers in supervising their children‘s ICTs use (see Anderson &
Sharum, 2007; Dholakia, 2006; Na, 2001; Pasquier, 2001; Rakow & Navarro, 1993;
Ribak, 2001; Singh, 2001). Other studies have found that mothers have more control
than fathers over where media are placed in the house so as to maximize their utility

(e.g., Flynn, 2003; Lemor, 2006).
In Indonesia, where patriarchy remains strong in all aspects of social life, the
role of women as primary caregivers to children causes them to be more concerned
about media education as well as supervision. They recommend informational and
educational programs to their children (Hendriyani, Hollander, d‘Haenens & Beentjes,
2011; Wattimena, 2010). They also become involved in media literacy programs to
better understand the media and develop their skills in supervising their children‘s
media consumption (Nur, 2011; Guntarto, 2011).
With the implied understanding that media practices within the family unit
cannot be understood in the context of a gender vacuum (Morley, 1986), this present


11

study will pave the way to consider gender issue, especially focusing on the
contemporary social condition of women in Indonesia who continually face a conflict
situation between ―traditional‖ social status, exigencies of financial support, and
gender equality in their family lives (Quah, 2005). This present study attempts to
explore how these mothers, who tend not to be involved in ICT adoption within the
family context are positioned by social and cultural circumstances to be responsible
for supervising their children, play their roles in mediating their children‘s media use.

2.2. Mothers’ Perceptions of Media and Its Influence on Parental Mediation
Practices

Scholars have shown that mothers‘ (parents‘) perceptions of the media tend to
influence their style of mediation (Abanto, 2004; Alters & Clarks, 2004; Bybee,
Robinson & Turow, 1982; Dens, Pelsmacker, & Eagle, 2007; Nathanson, 2001;
Nathanson, Eveland, Park & Paul, 2002). For example, it was found that mothers who
perceived media negatively and held negative attitudes about the media tended to

prefer active and restrictive mediation, whereas mothers who perceived media
positively and held positive attitudes towards the media tended to choose co-viewing
(Alters & Clarks, 2004; Dens, Pelsmacker & Eagle, 2007; Nathanson, 2001).
Although scholars showed that demographic characteristics and household factors
also determine parental styles of mediation, they defined these as ―intervening
variables‖ and mothers‘ perceptions of the media as ―an independent variable‖ (e.g.,
Abanto, 2004). Scholars perceived that mothers‘ perceptions toward the media were
the most important predictor of parental mediation style (e.g., Abanto, 2004; Dens,
Pelsmacker & Eagle, 2007).


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Mothers‘ perceptions are also strongly linked to media effect (Seiter, 1999).
Despite positive perceptions, mothers worried that their children would be affected by
television content which present too much sex and violence (Alters & Clark, 2004;
Seiter, 1999). Mothers were also concerned about the effects of advertisements (e.g.,
Bijizen, 2009; Chakroff, 2007; Chan & McNeal, 2002; Dens, Pelsmacker & Eagle,
2007). With specific regard to the Internet as an interactive medium, parents tended to
worry about: (1) ―content risk,‖ that their children may access and receive sexually
explicit and violent images and may obtain information about self-harm; (2) ―contact
risk,‖ such that they become victims of cyber-bullying or online sexual grooming; (3)
―conduct risk,‖ being exposed to private information and becoming isolated from
other people as a consequence of too much Internet access (Ponte & Simões, 2009).
Mothers generally perceived that the Internet was potentially more harmful
than television in terms of the likelihood of exposure to pornography (Carlsson,
2006). Parents in the United States were more concerned about Satanism, religious
proselytizing, drugs, alcohol and tobacco advertisements, gambling, and terrorism, all
of which have become issues in recent years (Strasburger, Wilson & Jordan, 2009).
Parents in Asia, such as in China and South Korea, were concerned about the impact

of ICTs on their children‘s intellectual abilities and their skills in reading and writing
(Lim, 2008).
Recognizing that the Internet has both negative and positive effects, mothers
found themselves faced with a moral dilemma, between their earnest desire to push
ICTs at home in hopes that it could help their children‘s upward social mobility, and
their worries about the negative effects of media consumption (Lim, 2008; Linebarger
& Chernin, 2003; Livingstone & Bober, 2004; O‘Hara, 2011). Believing that it was
their prime responsibility to protect their children from the bad influences of media,


13

many mothers have naturally become critical of media, such as criticizing TV
personalities, proffering comments or evaluations in attempts to encourage or
discourage specific media content, and drawing comparisons between social realities
and depictions of realities appearing on television (Messaris & Kerr, 1983). However,
to be critical, it is a necessary condition that mothers must first be literate about the
media (Potter, 2005).
In Indonesia, parents generally have negative perceptions of the effect of
television on their children. Data from the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission
(KPI) showed that public complaints about television programming from 2007 to
2010 continued to rise. In 2007, the commission received 1,300 complaints; in 2008,
the number increased to 3,500; in 2009, it was 7,500; and in 2010, it had dramatically
escalated to 20,000 (KPI Report, 2010). Local Indonesian Broadcasting Commission
(KPID) in the Yogyakarta province received 264 complaints in 2009 and 478
complaints in 2010 (Arifin, 2010). Most of the complaints were on ―Infotainment‖
(celebrity gossip), ―Sinetron‖ (drama series program), ―Reality Show,‖ and some
cartoons that were too simplistic. Scholarly studies showed that Indonesian parents
mostly worried about pornographic content (Barendregt, 2006).
Previous studies about parents‘ perceptions toward media did not seek to

investigate the influence of mothers‘ perceptions of media on parental mediation
styles. A study conducted by Abanto (2004) investigated children‘s and parents‘
perceptions of television programs and the practices of parental mediation. Study by
Nathanson (2001) explored parents‘ reasons in mediating violent television programs
and the children‘s interpretation of their parents‘ mediated message. Dens,
Pelsmacker and Eagle (2007) investigated parents‘ attitudes about advertising targeted
at children and how a particular attitude influenced parents‘ monitoring of television