The Use of Twitter for Public Education on Stunting in Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Stunting has for decades become a serious development problem in Indonesia. In 2022 President Joko Widodosetsa target of reducing stunting prevalence rate from 30.8% in 2018 to 14% in 2024. A key program in the Indonesian government’s strategies to achieve this goal is a massive public education campaign on stunting. Thisarticle provi desa review of the communication approach adopted by the government in its social media campaign viaTwitter.The results show that various government institutions have adopted the persuasive communication approach in doing so. A grass-root community survey is needed to assess the campaign’s effectiveness.

Keywords: Stunting, public education, persuasive communication, twitter, social media.

INTRODUCTION

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared three causes of stunting or malnutrition, that are poor nutritions, repetitive infections and lack of psychosional stimulation. Myers explained (cited in Safitri, 2020) that “Psychosocial is a link between two aspects of psychology and social. Psychological aspect is related to emotional and cognitive development that is related to the ability to learn, feel and memorize. Social aspect is related to the ability to form a relationship with other people following culture and social norms”. If these three factors happen simultaneously in repeat for the first 1000 days, the baby could suffer from malnutrition. Malnutrition can be worsened with the mother’s condition that is infected with malaria, hypertension and HIV during pregnancy (Faradiba, 2022).

Stunting is a chronic malnutrition problem due to poor nutrition intake for a long time

which begins when the fetus is still in the womb. Malnutrition or stunting can severely affect

children’s cognitive growth and cause

uncommon body’s development or stuntedness. Stunting

can be experienced both by those who live in poverty and those who live on easy streets.

A research by Sutarto, Mayasari, D and Indriyani, R (2018) found that the cause of stunting consists of multidimensional factors, not only obtained by poor nutrition that mothers have during pregnancy. There are several factors of bad parenting, including mothers’ lack of knowledge of nutritional intake during pregnancy and after childbirth. 60% of children aged 0–6 months do not get exclusive breast milk. Another data showed that 2 of 3 children do not get to drink milk alternatives at the age of 0–24 months. Besides that, lack of medical facilities, nutritional education for mothers and family access to nutritional food are also the factors that cause stunting.

A research by Aridiyah (cited in Sutarto, Mayasari, D and Indriyani, R., 2018), the number of less-educated mothers with children who suffer stunting in villages is 96,7% and in cities is 8%, meanwhile those who do not work are 71% in villages and 53,3% in cities. Another factor is environmental cleanliness, including clean water, is also important to prevent children from experiencing stunting. In developing countries, lack of adequate water supply as a means of sanitation increases the incidence of disease and then leads to malnutrition.

Stunting has become a special attention to economic actors and civil society from 194 countries under the United Nations (UN). They arrange the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been an international agenda, continuation of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in order to answer the demand from world leaders to overcome social gap, poverty and also the impacts of climate change.

SDGs was established on September 25th2015 and consists of 17 goals that include the global environment. These 17 goals have 169 targets that will serve as policy and funding guidelines over the next 15 years and are expected to be finished in 2030. These 17 goals of SDGs (Murtisari, 2020) consists of:

1.No Poverty. Poverty is the number one problem in almost all countries in the world, including Indonesia. Eradicating poverty needs a main agenda in order to achieve

Sustainable Development Goals.

2.Zero Hunger, by promoting agriculture and food security to be a main agenda to fix people’s nutritions. To date, famine has been a crucial problem in some countries.

3.Good Health and Well-being. Promoting healthy lifestyle for all ages has been one of the main focuses and also the mission of SDGs.

4.Quality Education, by making sure that quality education can be accessed to all strata of society. Education has an imperative role in increasing the livelihood of today's society.

5.Gender Equality. Gender equality issue has been spread massively, alas discrimination based on gender is still happening in almost all countries. Each country needs to fight for gender equality in hope to strengthen the ability of a country to develop faster, run the government effectively and eradicate poverty.

6.Clean Water and Sanitation. In 2014, the World Bank released a report that shows there were 780 million people in the world with no access to clean water and more than 2 billion people did not have access to sanitation. The report also revealed that a myriad of people

die which cost almost 7% of the world’s GDP. Accessibility to clean water and sanitation is the most important issue to increase livelihood.

7.Affordable and Clean Energy. Lots of places in the world are still isolated from electricity, even though electricity is important in increasing economic activities.

8.Decent Work and Economic Growth. Decent work, in order to escalate economic growth, needs to be guaranteed.

9.Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. More than 4 b

million people have no access to the internet and 90% of them come from developing countries. Thus, strong infrastructure development is needed and sustainable industrialization should be done.

10.Reduced Inequalities. Income inequality still happens in the w

world nowadays. 10% of the richest people in the world dominate 40% of the world's GDP. Meanwhile 10% of the poorest people only get 2 to 7% of the world’s GDP. In developing countries, this gap rises almost 11% if its count is based on population growth.

11.Sustainable Cities and Communities, by creating inclusive, safe, strong and sustainable cities.

12.Responsible Consumption and Production, by making sure the balance of consumption pattern and production, so it will be sustainable.

13.Climate Action. Fighting and overcoming climate change and global warming is one of the main duties.

14.Life Below Water. Due to endless hunts and pollution toward the water ecosystem, it is crucial to increase the protection of life below water in the next sustainable development.

15.Life on Land, by managing forests sustainably, rehabilitating land degradation and stopping biodiversity extinction.

16.Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, to encourage fair, peaceful and inclusive society.

17.Partnerships for the Goals, by reviving global partnership for sustainable development.

Factors that caused stunting in Indonesia got serious attention from President Joko Widodo. Even though the number of stunting has declined, the government needs to set a due date to focus on the reduction of this problem. “If our children suffer from stunting and don't have enough nutritions, it will be hard to compete on a global scale for those children in the future. This is what I always said, we should fight stunting seriously and decrease its percentage” in a news article titled Jokowi’s Efforts in Decreasing the Number of Stunting and Gold Generation Targets (Saptohutomo, 2022).

The Ministry of Finance in 2022 disbursed IDR 44.8 trillion to encourage the stunting alleviation program. This fund was spread to 17 ministries and organizations, as much as IDR 34.1 trillion, local governments through Special Fund Allocation (DAK) as much as IDR 8.9 trillion and Non-physical Special Fund Allocation as much as IDR 1.8 trillion. The Vice Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara said, “As much as IDR 44.8 trillion of funds we disburse to prevent stunting. We hope this fund can give tons of benefits. We hope that this (guideline) can give guidance and later it can be used to continuously encourage stunting reduction in regional level”.

Stunting reduction has become a national priority program that needs special funds through DAK in several allocations, such as health operational support for stunting, operational support for family planning, food security and agricultural funds.The government in this program includes a stunting variable in the counting of regional incentive funds. In 2023, a stunting reduction fund is also prepared through DAK which is expected to reflect the stunting handling’s progress in each region (Cabinet Secretariat of Indonesia, 2022).

Persuasive in Social Media

Stunting socialization has been done persuasively in social media. Effective communication and persuasive socialization to the society through social media are effective tools and in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Experts’ Opinions about Social Media(Ambar, 2022).

1. McGraw Hill Dictionary Social media is a tool used by the public to exchange information and ideas and also to

interact with others in a network, including through virtual communities.

2.Varinder Taprial and Priya Kanwar (2012) An individual uses social media or becomes social by using online social media,

exchanging texts, photos or any news to other individuals.

Sustainability Science and Resources, Vol. 3:2, 2022, pp. 17-31

3.B.K Lewis (2010) Social media is a digital technology that allows people or organizations to connect, interact and produce messages to each other.

4.Mark Hopkins (2008) Several existing social media channels have become social components as public communication media.

5.P.N Howard and M.R Parks (2012) Social media is classified into three dimensions, the first one is as a tool to produce

information. This information includes personal messages, news, ideas and also cultural products. The last one is as a tool to produce and consume in digital form done by individuals, groups and industries.

6.Russo J Watkins, L.Kelly, and S. Chan (2008) Social media instruments aimed to facilitate communication through online.

7.Andreas M Kaplan and Michael Haenlein (2010) Social media as a part of an internet-based group that was built based on Web 2.0 ideology from social media evolution, which later allows content exchange between its users.

Meanwhile communication is a part of the daily life of an individual as a social creature that needs interactions with other individuals. Communication can be done verbally and delivered orally or non-verbal through symbols and body language. Communication aimed to receive feedback, this process involves signs and codes. Sign is an artifact, meanwhile code is a system where signs are produced, constructed and related to other signs.

Based on Fiske (1990:38), “Communication is a central part of culture. Without communication, any culture will be gone. Therefore, communication study needs to involve cultural study which then both studies are integrated with each other. Communication is a representation or systematic form of a process that has a role in understanding how communication works and when it is used”.

Laswell in Fauzi (2012) conveyed that, “Communication is basically a process that explains ‘who? Said what? With what medium? To whom? With what causes or what result?’. Defining communication is not a singular matter but more flexible”.

Along with technology development, the digitalization era appears with various communication mediums including social media, that change all aspects in human’s life in practicing communication. An era that according to Castells (2009:24) has been included as network society era.

On its development, communication network digitalization has become a society backbone that manifests itself in many forms, in accordance with culture, institutions, and each background in this era (Castells and Cardoso, 2005). Network society, with social structure that was made and activated by information, then processed digitally. Social structure as society’s organization settings in the relation of production, consumption, reproduction, experience and wealth published as communication means that coded in a culture. Network in a global society can reconfigure itself if the message delivered passed the limits and area through the telecommunication network. A social structure whose infrastructure based on a digital network has the potential to be global (Castells, 2011).

This social media era encourages the ministry in stunting handling by practicing persuasive communication patterns through today’s social media. Ideas are used as the most effective tool for interaction with one another in social media. This social media facilitated by the internet had gone through some revolutionary changes in producing and consuming messages.Network in a global society can reconfigure itself if the message delivered passed the limits and area through the telecommunication network. A social structure whose infrastructure based on a digital network has the potential to be global (Castells, 2009).

Information technology as a driver of network society appears today and also creates information networks in this era. The world in more than two decades has done a structural transformational process. Technology is indeed not a determinant of society, however society determines technology in accordance with the necessity of value and its interest. Digitalization era indirectly changes the point of view in communicating and socializing as a world citizen and network society.

Figure 1.

This research about stunting eradication with a persuasive communication approach in social media was obtained with a qualitative method. This research used documents review by analyzing several ministry and organization accounts that socialize stunting programs in several social medias.

Qualitative method was used in this research to find the persuasive patterns in social media Twitter.

Researchers chose Twitter randomly because it was assumed that Twitter has a correlation with the research process. This qualitative research was not intended to refining the abstract ideas into theoretical ideas in the beginning of this research, but to refining basic temporary ideas during the data collection process and data analysis process. The qualitative operationalization used existing concepts, then blended with a technique and concept that appears during the data collection process (Neuman, 2018).

Based on Miles and Huberman, 1989 (cited in Ali, 2011), “Qualitative data are grounded, rich with description and have the ability to explain the process”. Qualitative research is research aimed to describe and analyze some phenomenons and events, including social activity, individual and group thoughts (Arief and Sutopo, 2010). Qualitative research reviews matters in their niches. Qualitative research also tends to be associated, researcher to review meanings, contexts and holistic approaches or wholly towards a phenomenon (Mulyana, 2018).

Social Media Twitter

Teng, Khong, and Wei (2015) explained that “Social media as a new way from Web 2.0 technology that has started a communication ‘explosion’ in the 21st century. Social media is the tool that has dramatically changed our lifestyle in communicating and socializing”. Internet-based social media has provided a place to communicate with and/or interact with one another. Social media connects message’s sender and receiver in communicating, including in a persuasive communication process. Social media Twitter was chosen in regards to Twitter’s popularity as the most favorite social media in Indonesia. Twitter is a platform that allows people to share information. Indonesia held the sixth position in the world with 15.7 million users.

Figure 2.

Maclean et al (2013) stated that after Twitter’s user makes an account, several texts including images and videos, or ‘tweets’, can be swiftly spread to anyone who is following the account. As a communication tool, Twitter enables the free exchange of ideas between people interested in certain interests, as well as providing the opportunity to engage in critical debate.

In 2021, Indonesia had 15.7 million twitter users, which made Indonesia in the sixth position after the United States, Japan, India, Britain and Brazil. Based on the data from Statista, Twitter had reached 206 million worldwide active users daily in the second quarter of 2021 (Dihni, 2021). Twitter has become one of the most important social media platforms to share information through digital space. Through this social media, users have no limits in sharing their ideas and opinions.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Almost all ministries, from searches conducted on Twitter, often had persuasive patterns campaigning about stunting in order to align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These searches that had persuasive patterns were done by three government’s institutions randomly.

The Directorate General of Budget applied persuasive communication pattern in Twitter’s user account @DitjenAnggaran in July 23rd2022, tweeted “The Government also supports the growth of #Indonesianchildren before and after the childbirth through #stunting handling. In 2022, #OurMoney as much as IDR 34.1 trillion, was disbursed to stunting handling. Let's support Indonesian healthy children to be stronger!”.

Figure 3.

On July 26th2022, the National Population and Family Planning Institution (BKKBN) through its Twitter account @BKKBNofficial implemented a persuasive communication pattern. This action was done at 2 o’clock in the morning, tweeted “On the 1000 First Day of Life (HPK), stunting becomes the main thing to prevent so future generations will have excellent growth. At least, there are 8 ways that can be remembered to prevent children suffering from stunting, #BKKBNFriends! Let’s check the posts above”.

Figure 4.

The government through Cabinet Secretariat had made a persuasion to the public via its Twitter account @setgabgoid on September 16th 2018. They invited the public to participate in a stunting prevention campaign in Bundaran Hotel Indonesia through Twitter’s tweet “TheMinistry of Health will hold a Stunting Prevention Campaign in Bundaran Hotel Indonesia, Jakarta, on Sunday (16/9)”.

Figure 5.

Those persuasion by the Directorate General of Budget, BKKBN and Cabinet Secretariat through their Twitter account, @DitjenAnggaran, @BKKBNofficial, @setgabgoid, were proven as effective. Those tweets about the support and eradication of stunting were not propaganda or coercion, but as persuasion through social media. Neither bad nor negative thoughts included in the action, or an event to deceive or as part of propaganda. There was no intimidation too in the observed tweets. Researcher learned that Twitter account @DitjenAnggaran, @BKKBNofficial, @setgabgoid as the communicators or persuaders was trying to change and influence people’s trusts, including people’s attitude and behavior, so that the public can act as the persuaders’s wish. Greenwald (1968) conveyed that “when individuals accept the communication and face a condition where they have to decide whether to accept or reject, it is connected to the new information of existing acts related to knowledge, feelings and other matters' '.

Tweets of @DitjenAnggaran, @BKKBNofficial, @setgabgoid are cognition or knowledge, perception and belief that they have and they spread them through persuasive communication.

Persuasive ethic on account @DitjenAnggaran, @BKKBNofficial, @setgabgoid

The ethical limit of persuasive action to prevent the action change into propaganda as described by Prawiro (2019) are:

1.Communicator or persuader should have the interest to certain issues Tweets of @DitjenAnggaran, @BKKBNofficial, @setgabgoid are forms of persuasive action in order to support the government and also Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

2.Have better understanding regarding the mentioned issues

Account @DitjenAnggaran, @BKKBNofficial, @setgabgoid already have previous understanding related to the intentions and

goals of the government and also support the SDGs. The aforementioned accounts as communicators have some conditions to make their persuasion succeed. Below are the conditions to make persuasion succeed:

•Credibility is important for a communicator. Credibility is a determinant of success in a persuasion.

•The delivered message should be rational and supported with facts.

•Environment is also one of the most important factors that determines successful persuasion.

•Repetitive persuasive message also determines successful persuasion

Hendri (2019) explained three elements of persuasive communication philosophy, which are ontology, epistemology and axiology. The Ontology element is important to view communicators while communicating. All communication theory should be started with the assumption of humans including their experiences. Those who practice persuasion have the ability to persuade through reasoning or temptation, which of course means to alter a communicant's knowledge or message’s receiver, so they change their behavior (Prawiro, 2019).

In this point of view, the ontology aspect is viewed as part of or a tool in conceptualizing communication. The focus in persuasive communication is how to influence and change the point of view through the communication process. Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that learns about knowledge, how people know what they know. Epistemology is derived from Greek words “epistēmē” (knowledge) and “logos” (account, argument, or reason). Hendri (2019) explained that “Epistemology is a knowledge and/or conversation about knowledge. A review of an epistemological object is questioning how something came, how to know it and also how to differentiate with others”.

Meanwhile axiology is a point of view in understanding individuals while using their knowledge. It is a theory about value, reality and the benefit of knowledge. Based on Suriasumantri (cited in Fithriani, 2017), Axiology is a review of value in ethics. In the Grand Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), axiology is related to useful knowledge in human’s life

Account @DitjenAnggaran, @BKKBNofficial, @setgabgoid are part of an individual or networking group. Individual does not need to be a member of a certain community to get connected with the internet or public in other social media. Kozinets described by Eriyanto (2021) summarizes the principle of individual networking, that are:

•A network that is spread socially and vastly, does not need to depend on intimate connection

•Has a lot of members in various network, does not depend on certain membership

•Technology that accelerates individual network trend through growth, accessibility or convenience as well as diversification or expanding network groups

•Internet becomes a new environment in providing networking channels

•Since internet empowers a network, it is possible to express vastly

•Both common or private communication become vague when communication is facilitated by the internet

•Has a lot of network, able to build self-identity

•The relation between individuals and other institutions with public in social media does not formal

•Does not limited by rooms

•Trusted information is more loose, about which sources of information to trust and who to trust.

As a concluding note, social media applications, not only Twitter, look set to be upgraded. Simon Lindgren (2017: 12) in his book titled “Digital Media and Society” stated that this era has been facilitated by the internet. The Internet's presence creates smartphones, apps, social network services, bloggers and sharing media platforms. The internet has changed everything. All activities can be supported by the internet so a lot of people can connect to each other efficiently. As the replacement of everything is digital in society, it is now known as digital society referring to the similarity from digital media + society.

Lindgren mentioned in his book that digital media has a big role for society. Media changes society and creates structures. As a result, a new concept or definition about media appears, including media with all languages–both written and spoken–and also with more abstract language like symbolic and cultural mythologies and ways of thinking

CONCLUSION

Persuasive communication processes will continue to be practiced in stunting eradication efforts in Indonesia. Communication process, message delivery process, interaction process and receiving response from message’s receiver are the goals of communication. Inviting, influencing, and providing stimulation in social media are the characterization of persuasive communication, related to the communication process for stunting eradication as a global agenda. This study’s results show that various Indonesian government institutions have adopted the persuasive communication approach in stunting public campaigns. A grass-root community survey is needed to assess the campaign’s effectiveness.

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Figure 6.