Jamhari Makruf: Beware of Messages on Social Media

PPIM.UINJKT.AC.ID – 

Social media could have two sides, it could be used for positive purposes, but more often it was used for negative agenda, said Jamhari Makruf, a Professor of Anthropology at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta.

He made the statement on Friday (9/10) in a virtual seminar series of #ModerasiBeragama (Religious Moderation) themed “Social Media for Religious Moderation”, which was organized by the Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) of UIN Jakarta through Convey Indonesia program.

Jamhari emphasized that social media had become a daily need for every individual for positive activities, as the development of sophisticated technology had enabled people to interact more easily.

“I remember when I was a kid, I had to use telegram to be able to receive news from colleagues who lived in the distance. The news was received several days later. But thanks to the technology, that no longer happens today,” said the Convey Indonesia Team Leader. 

Nevertheless, Jamhari also underlined that social media was often used to spread negative content to the society.

“Social media sometimes poses negative impacts, such as disinformation and hoaxes, and is often used by certain groups who purposely spread negative contents to mess up (other people’s) psychology,” he added. 

The virtual seminar on Religious Moderation is held every Friday via “Convey Indonesia” and “PPIM UIN Jakarta” official Youtube channels. The discussion also presented other speakers, such as Ismail Fahmi (the creator of  Drone Emprit Application), Iim Halimatusa’diyah, (a research coordinator of PPIM’s “Media and Religious Conservatism” study), and Abdul Karim Munthe (Head of Islamic Media Syndication).

Writer: Abdallah
Editor: M. Nida Fadlan