Another day, another controversy under President Joko Widodo's administration. The minister for women's empowerment and child protection, Yohana Yembise, announced on Wednesday that the government was now drafting rules that could potentially ban the use of cell phones by children.

The minister argued that cell phones could lead children to harmful websites, including those containing pornography, distract them from studies and impair their social skills.

While we agree that we must protect our children from harmful material such as violence and pornography, creating a law specifically designed to be able to take away cell phones from children is excessive at best and damaging to society as a whole at worst.

A cell phone is merely a tool. Like other tools before it, a cell phone can be used for good or bad purposes. A knife is very useful for cooking, for instance, but it can also be used to kill. Does this mean we must ban knives as well?

Following the minister's logic, if a cell phone, or in this case, a smartphone, can harm our youth because it allows access to pornographic material, then the same should apply to laptop or desktop computers, which also allow the same access. The ban therefore should be applied across the board.

The ban could also prove problematic in enforcement. The government will need to really consider the measures involved in order to effectively let the ban take effect.

Ultimately, the government has many other pressing issues and should focus on less trivial matters. The real priority should be advocating responsible parenting. Parents should be given the option to choose to give their children a cell phone, and the government should not forcefully intervene.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/opinion/editorial-mobile-phone-ban-children-doesnt-fly/