Another interview about social media with Indonesia Tatler

I dunno why Indonesia Tatler likes to interview me about social media. It's like there are no real social media experts around. But anyway, I gave them my grain of salt. Hope it's useful. This was done early December this year. I post my original answers, unedited. ........................................................................................................................................... 1. How opposed are you to the idea of social media as a positive platform for youths to showcase their talents? ........................................................................................................................................... I am 100% for it! It's just that we should use it wisely, and like a good performer, always think that whatever we post is for other people to see / read, and be ready that any of our posts could be retweeted/reposted and be viral. I have my own rule of "5 don'ts" before posting: 1. don't seek approval. 2. don't show off/boast/brag. 3. don't complain (I break this particular rule a lot, especially if I am feeling mellow watching the sky. But I try to make my complains poetic!). 4. don't be unkind (this include attacking or sharing a private information about someone). 5. don't post anything unnecessary to be read by your followers. Remember, their time is as precious as yours. ........................................................................................................................................... 2. What do you think social media has done in reviving classical music to the modern world? ........................................................................................................................................... I wrote an article in 2015 for Indonesia Tatler about this : http://www.indonesiatatler.com/arts-culture/etiquette/is-classical-music-really-dying-and-social-media-its-murderer and I won't change a word of that article --except some numbers of some celeb's followers and that now Instagram has gained popularity more than twitter in classical music --. In Asia certainly it has helped in bringing classical music to a (much) wider audience a lot. It also has proven that classical musicians are not as "narrow minded" as we're always looked upon. Now people can see that we feed on everything around us to inspire our artistry. Not only that, we interact in the business side of it: we are endorsed by certain products (not necessarily related to music) or becoming ambassadors of a certain cause. It can also benefit a community, like what I did today, using social media for socializing and informing on Asperger's Syndrome that I myself have. Personally speaking, questions and discussions with me on twitter tend to deal with other issues than music since those issues are more familiar with the laymen to be able to connect to the arts. You want an example? Look, on what issue are you asking me about in this interview? There you have it, right? ........................................................................................................................................... 3. In some recent news, you mentioned that social media has relation with the low level of tolerance in Indonesia and around the world, can you elaborate more? ........................................................................................................................................... Saying that social media is destroying us is like saying that guns are killing us. Of course it's the people who pull the trigger, or those who manages the social media. The problem is that the majority of the Indonesian society is not educated & prepared enough to use the social media. What we post, true or not, would be read by our followers, and people could retweet or repost it without checking its truth. An example: one could claim that he knows Arabic or a Qur'an expert, and post something that propagates fear among the ignorants such as "don't vote for a leader of a different religion than yours, otherwise you'd go to hell", and how could you validate it if you don't know Arabic? ........................................................................................................................................... 4. How can we improve the social media’s role when it comes to increase the level of tolerance among Indonesian society? ........................................................................................................................................... Social media can offer many distinct advantages as a new business model for musicians and companies in general, and there are people regularly using these sites who are aware yet genuine and authentic about what they put up in the face of ‘social perfection’. Even more than any "old fashioned business", there are ethics to do this, and one should think of the social impact when one posts something and not only aim for generating a high rating and popularity and in the end, financial income. ........................................................................................................................................... 5. What do you think is the biggest problem plaguing Indonesian society right now? ........................................................................................................................................... It's the cyber armies, Saracen accounts, hate speech by the religious radicals. They are doing criminal acts, not unlike robbery or rape, and they should be investigated and processed urgently. Every passing day is crucial to their strength, so time is crucial in cracking them down. President Jokowi is doing a great job in the infrastructure building in our country, but if he doesn't deal with those issues I mentioned, all his works will amount to nothing, since Saracen would prevail in provoking conflicts among the uneducated people, which is a big number. Every December, the Islamic radicals attacks against those who celebrate Christmas are getting more intense and ridiculous. Saracen does it by publishing fake news (mostly about religion, a sensitive issue among low class / uneducated people) about a community as if that community is attacking or mocking another community. Jokowi should not underestimate the power of ignorant people in huge quantities. Social media has a major role in bringing up democracy, and we always forget that what Plato meant about democracy in "The Republic" is not only that everybody has the same rights. It means that the leaders who are to be elected should only be fulfilled by the state of his necessary desires, but not the unnecessary ones. Necessary desires are desires we cannot overcome, such as our desire for shelter and sustenance. Unnecessary desires are desires that we are able to overcome, yet refuse to. These desires include luxuries and lavish possessions. These types of desires are a result of the necessity of status in the population, and that is addictive to any leaders. That's the root of corruption: not the necessity of money, but of status and power. So, voters should judge their candidates based solely on this, not on the similarity of religion or race. And the conflicts based on religion and race are easily triggered by the social media.