In the measurement of the Indonesia Digital Literacy Index 2021, Digital Culture has the highest score. The pillar of Digital Culture was recorded with a score of 3.90 on a scale of 5 or good. Furthermore, the pillars of Digital Ethics (digital ethics) with a score of 3.53 and Digital Skills with a score of 3.44. Meanwhile, the Digital Safety pillar got the lowest score (3.10) or slightly above average. The measurement of this digital literacy index is not only to find out the status of digital literacy in Indonesia but also to ensure that efforts to increase people’s digital literacy are more targeted.
We want to continue to accelerate and continuously monitor the level of people’s digital literacy. We also aim to keep pace with the rapid and increasingly strategic development of digital technology for the lives of Indonesian people today.
– Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, Director General of Informatics Applications, Ministry of Communication and Informatics
The four pillars that form the Digital Literacy Index are measured annually by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics. This year the Indonesian Digital Literacy Index is at a score of 3.49 or at a moderate and close to a good stage. The use of the four pillars in this measurement refers to the 2020-2024 Indonesia Digital Literacy Roadmap compiled by the Ministry of Communication and Information, based on previous national research and refers to similar measurements held by UNESCO.
Compared to the previous year, in the 2021 index framework there is a change in the grouping of the constituent elements that make up the index. This is an effort to continue to ensure that Indonesia has a stable measuring tool and now Indonesia has a roadmap that can be used as a reference both in measuring and improving literacy.
The measurement of the 2021 Digital Literacy Index was carried out through a face-to-face survey to 10,000 respondents from 514 districts and cities in Indonesia. The characteristics of respondents are internet users aged 13-70 years.
Compared to the 2020 Digital Literacy Index, there was an increase in the index (from 3.46 to 3.49). Improvements occurred in the Digital Culture and Digital Skills pillars, but there was a decline in the Digital Ethics and Digital Safety pillars.
The pillar of Digital Safety that gets the lowest score needs attention. There are still many respondents who have not been able to protect themselves in cyberspace. The researchers found that there are still many who are not aware of the dangers of uploading personal data.
In addition to measuring the literacy index, the survey also analyses the behaviour of internet users in Indonesia. Through this survey, the researchers also found that people today have increased skills in clarifying fake news. This is shown by the increasing number of people who diligently search through search engines in cyberspace to get the truth of information. Analysis of the results of the index found that efforts to increase literacy among women, low-income groups, low educated and old people also need to be done.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo emphasised the acceleration of national digital transformation for five aspects, one of which relates to accelerating the expansion of telecommunication access, increasing digital infrastructure and providing internet services.
In 2021, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia has built a digital infrastructure that includes all aspects. The Ministry also has reorganised the radio frequency spectrum to optimise the quality of 4G network services, develop 5G networks, and make the Analog Switch Off (ASO) program a success.
