Social Interaction of Indonesian Rural Youths in the Internet Age

Rista Ardy Priatama, Kenichiro Onitsuka, Ernan Rustiadi and Satoshi Hoshino
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Rista Ardy Priatama: Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Kenichiro Onitsuka: Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Ernan Rustiadi: Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
Satoshi Hoshino: Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: The internet penetration on young villagers gives rise to question about its effects on the social interaction and behavior patterns as it accelerates the interaction with the wider network. However, the internet could possibly decrease both the social interaction with local people at the village and the dependency toward native villagers as internet utilization allows the users to be more selective in terms of interactions according to their interests. This research aims to examine the impacts of the Internet through a dystopian view by comparing the degrees of senses of place, participation in local activities, and social capital among internet and non-internet users using a statistical approach. The analysis of variance and linear regression were employed in the present study. The results revealed that the internet did strengthen both broad and local social capital. It also supported young villager’s participation in local activities. Nevertheless, the internet was observed to decline the villager’s sense of place, especially the desire to remain a resident in the native village. Better access to information and network gained by the users elevated their chances to move outside the village when better opportunities were observed elsewhere.

Keywords: internet use; young villagers; sense of place; local participation; social capital; rural life (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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