I lost an essay competition. But I cried not because I lost. This is why

What starts with E and ends with Y? It’s “Easy.”

That’s what I thought when I first wrote this easy, just bonk my head and power-walk with my self-confidence, though it mostly stemmed from, “If any problem arises, let my future self handle it.” And that was the beginning of my rocky journey.

ASEAN-IPR Essay Competition

ASEAN-IPR, better known as the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, opened the Youth Essay Competition 2024 on 29 November 2024 with the theme “Cyberthreat.” I began my journey to understand the realm of cyberthreats in the ASEAN landscape, and oh boy, did I get deep into the water. It was such an eye-opening experience to understand the colossal threats that ASEAN faces: hacking, phishing, and data theft.

ABSTRACT

In the digital age, the convenience of technology has intertwined with daily life, especially in ASEAN nations, where mobile phones are used in everyday life for communication, buying products, and entertainment. However, this convenience created a risk of attack from cybercriminals who exploit the vulnerability of ASEAN nation people, especially children.  This essay examines the immense dangers of cybercrime in ASEAN, illustrating how cybercriminals utilize platforms such as social media to target individuals, particularly young people and children. Using real-world cases, including phishing scams that lead to financial loss and human trafficking facilitated through social media, unsupervised mobile phones led to child exploitation. The essay proposes solutions that include mandatory digital literacy education, strong data protection policies modeled after the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and enhanced cybersecurity infrastructure through initiatives like the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 to create peace and safety among ASEAN citizens. 

THE CRYING PART IN THE MIDDLE OF RESEARCH 

I learn the subject of cybercrime did not stop on petty criminal, stealing 1 million rupiah or 1 million dollars instead it's the children. As stastic show:  The majority (51.9%) of Generation Z is also shown to use the Instagram platform extensively, according to the Indonesia APJII survey in December 2023-January 2024, involving a total of 8,720 respondents from 38 Indonesian provinces (Adi Ahdiat, 2024). It is the children of Indonesia. 

These children do not have money. I am in my twenties and even I don't have a penny to my name, moreover these innocent children. They are sold, abuse, and trafficked to the other side of the world.

A young girl from West Java, Indonesia who is not older than 14 year-old started a friendship on Facebook. The friendship that starts innocently soon turns horrifying, as the perpetrator manipulates the young girl with a promise of a better life and convinces her to meet in person—later on, the young girl is abducted and found in harrowing condition, subjected to repeated abuse and exploitation. This is just one of several cases from 2012 where teenage girls were kidnapped by individuals they trusted on social media, showing that these traffickers' prey on the vulnerability of youth. In another incident, a young girl was taken to a remote area and held captive. After a week of pleading and cries, her cries were heard and she was rescued weeks later. These cases highlighted the terrifying reality of how social media trust is weaponized by criminals to carry out heinous acts (detikNews, 2012).

Unfortunately, the exploitation will not stop, instead they go to harm the most vulnerable youth, children. In 2018, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received nearly 18,000 reports of child sexual exploitation. Each report contained hundreds, sometimes thousands, of images and videos depicting unimaginable harm inflicted on children. The report includes grooming, image-based abuse, and the distribution of self-generated R18+ material (ACCCE, 2023).

The number of reports only goes higher, as in 2023-2024, ACCE received 40,232 reports of child sexual exploitation. These reports contained graphic evidence of children being sexually assaulted or exploited for the gratification of predators. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) charged 186 offenders with 925 child exploitation-related offenses in that same year.

Every day, an estimated 500,000 predators are lurking online, befriending children under disguise. The numbers are chilling. One in three children is exposed to social media by the age of five, and shockingly, an equal proportion will experience an unwelcome sexual encounter online before they turn 18. These wretched data are just the tip of the iceberg, as countless cases like this do not get reported because of fear and shame. Organized syndicates flourish in this environment, as they go undetected and use the innocence of children to condone their vile acts. Although these statistics are based on data from the United States, the implications for children in ASEAN are equally, if not more, alarming. Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) created a survey on gadget use without the supervision of parents and found that in Indonesia 76.8% of children are allowed to use gadgets outside of school hours, and often without parental supervision. 

This unmonitored access exposes children to significant risks, including false information, harmful content, and becoming victims of cybercrime.

The survey depicts a disturbing reality of daily use of gadgets: 36.5% of children spend 1–2 hours, 34.8% spend 2–5 hours, and 25.4% spend over 5 hours engaged with their devices outside of educational activities. Alarmingly, 79% of the parents do not regulate and enforce safe rules on gadget usage and 71.3% of the children are given free access to their gadgets. These children are left to wander the dark corners of the internet without supervision.

Margaret A. Maimunah, KPAI’s Commissioner for Pornography and Cybercrime, describes some of the harrowing consequences. In one case reported to KPAI, a child was invited to join a pornographic group on social media. The child's curiosity brings them to explore more down the group, exposing them to the group's inappropriate content (Tempo, 2021). Cases like this proved the harmful impact of unregulated gadget usage without parental intervention as they are easy prey for exploitation, manipulation, and online influences.

The devastating impact of cyber threats on ASEAN highlights the urgent need for action to protect the next generation. These criminals take everything from people's lives, committing devastating financial losses, identity theft, human exploitation, and trafficking. The crisis is not just an individual problem but a societal one that terrorizes the safety of ASEAN citizens. Thus, a movement to condemn these vile crimes needs to be initiated to regain trust in technology and secure the future for the coming generations.

MY TAKE ON THIS WHOLE EXPERIENCE 

Cybercrime, especially crimes against children, will never stop. My mother, who has worked extensively with the police force as an LPSK counselor helping victims with mental recovery, has noted the rise in children’s use of the internet and social applications contributing to this problem. Parental guidance is needed to address this vile threat.

DIDN'T WIN

I didn’t win the competition, but I gained a deeper understanding of the threats that lurk in the shadows, waiting to prey on the youth.

Here is the full Essay if you are interested: Click Here