Indonesian’s perspective on skepticism
According to the World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017-2020), most people think that obedience is important to teach children. This means that, for most Indonesians, obedience is an important value, which is usually negatively correlated with the desire to question whether what the authorities say is true. The same report states that most Indonesians value authority and trust the government1. Therefore, it can be concluded that Indonesians tend to see skepticism as an attitude that needs to be avoided.
Do Indonesians have a “healthy” level of skepticism?
According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), there are 20% of people who do not want to be vaccinated. This survey was conducted on 212,000 people online on July 13-20, 2021. From the total surveyed, 15.8% did not want to take the vaccine because they are worried about side effects, while 4.2% do not believe in the effectiveness of the vaccine2. Even though all vaccines have gone through an evaluation process by the POM Agency, recommendations from ITAGO, WHO, and experts so that their safety, quality, and efficacy are guaranteed3. However, if explored more deeply, there are various other reasons why people do not want to be vaccinated. On social media, we can see that not all people understand science. There are also people who trust other sources that are considered to have the same identity or value system. If viewed from this case, it can be said that Indonesians do not have a “healthy” level of skepticism because the skepticism is not applied properly so that it is not beneficial for themselves or the community.