INTERCONNECTED INDONESIA:

A REVOLUTION STARTED, SUSTAINED,

AND SUPPORTED BY THE INTERNET
A SHORT ESSAY ABOUT HOW THE INTERNET CAN SHAPE A BETTER INDONESIA (ALSO HOW IT
ALREADY HAS), AND HOW THE TOKOPEDIA STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CAN HELP ME
TO MAKE IMPACT THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.

Author: Abdul Aziz Arya Santosa

When talking about shaping a better country, there are a lot of ways to do it, yet we
can’t know exactly how to use “the ways”. It used to be limited, by either going to a good school
or just opening a business and hope for the best. But now, with the introduction of the internet,
everything changed. The rule of the game has changed to comply with the ever-changing world.

January 2009 was the first time I got introduced to this thing called “internet”. I used
to only be able to access it 1 hour/week, since it was expensive. Yet that small time slot changed
how I view the world. I created social media accounts, read international and local news, even
interacted with some foreigners. For a 10-year old kid, it was breathtaking. The ability to even
know a lot of things in a few clicks helped me expanded my view about the world from the
smallest of atoms to the huge universe we live in. Now imagine that happened to the 240 million
diverse people of Indonesia.

Fast forward 10 years. 2019. Connection to the internet got faster and cheaper, smart
devices enter the playing field, and of course, better way of life for Indonesians. People who
used to look for information in printed medias can now do it with only a few taps, jobs can be
found and done quickly, transportation can be ordered online in a few seconds, even shopping
can be done at home, waiting for a few days (or even few hours) for their desired product to
arrive! Imagine what the next decade or even a few months can bring!

Indonesia has moved forward and will always be moving forward because of the
internet. In the future, we might be seeing even more advanced technology in Indonesia, such
as online voting, online world-class free homeschooling for those who can’t afford regular school,
or even free internet connection and devices for every single Indonesians who need one, since
it already is a vital component in our daily life now.

By participating in this program, I will have a better start and experience (courtesy of
Tokopedia!). As a computer science student, I have petabytes of resources ready at my hand,
waiting to be accessed and used in a good way. Through developing amazing technological feats
for Indonesians to use, either by making more efficient civil service techs, easy-to-use programs
for people to use, or even by only teaching fellow countrymen about technology and lead them
to success. Everyone have to put their own marks in history, and I am ready to start making a lot
with this scholarship program, as the motto of Tokopedia said: #MulaiAjaDulu.