Threats behind Ease of E-commerce in Indonesia

Nowadays, in the digital era, humans prefer something that is instant and does not require
a lot of energy. This is supported by the development of information and communication
technology. Internet not only make humans easier to obtain information or communicate with
people in different world’s part, internet can also make humans easier to fulfill their needs and
desires. For example, just by clicking on an e-commerce application, people can get what they
want to buy. Many benefits are obtained by the community through just one click on their e-
commerce application. They can buy, sell, and distribute their wares. That way people really
glorify e-commerce as a very sophisticated application in making life easier. However, it is not
entirely true, behind the people's glorification of e-commerce applications, they are not aware of
and do not highlight the many dangers behind their ease of the e-commerce use. E-commerce has
several threats behind its maximization, including the dangers of dependence, crime, and
changes in hedonistic lifestyles.

Dependence on e-commerce is a dangerous thing that people often don't realize.

Dependence on something instant is used by entrepreneurs who are observant in seeing business
opportunities. In 2017, e-Marketer estimates that the number of Indonesian netters will reach 112
million people (Yusuf, 2014). With a large number of internet users, of course, it can be a great
business opportunity as well. Currently, there are many traders who use the internet as a trading
medium, which is commonly called an online shop or e-commerce. The number of e-commerce
in Indonesia reached 7.4 million people with a transaction value of US$4.89 billion in 2015
(Ministry of Communication and Information of the Republic of Indonesia). It has its own
negative impact on society, where people will be suggested to make the use of e-commerce as
their needs. They will get used to the habit of extravagance and wasting money. There are many
examples of cases that have occurred regarding people's dependence on the use of e-commerce
which makes them even willing to do credit or take loans online. This will be very dangerous for
the mindset of the community. With this dependence, the poor will get poorer and the rich will
get richer, so the social gap will get bigger.

As the development of e-commerce is increasing, criminal acts such as online fraud are
also increasingly diverse. These new types of crime on behalf of e-commerce companies that
have big names. One of them is the Shopee online shop fraud case in 2017, a victim named
Audievani ordered a Playstation at Shopee for Rp. 2,400,000, on January 3, 2017 she paid by
transfer from a BCA bank account to a Shopee. The next day, the she received a call in the name
of Shopee and notified that there was an update for Shopee application and asked for account
verification through her phone number and forbade her to open the application until 20.00. It
turned out that the her account was hacked, the order was canceled and the money amounting to
Rp. 2,400,000, was transferred back by Shopee but to M Asrul’s account. Then someone
contacted the Audievani and said she had bought BM items from Shopee and the seller had been
detained by the police, to solve this the she had to pay Rp. 3,500,000, if no she will be
imprisoned for 1 year. Audievani felt cheated, then she contacted Shopee and asked for evidence
of the fraud, but Shopee did not want to be responsible (Kaskus). From this case, it proves the
vulnerability of fraud cases on behalf of e-commerce, even e-commerce parties seem to raise
their hands. Weak supervision and responsibility on e-commerce part gives reproach to sellers
who have bad intentions. This causes consumers to hesitate to use e-commerce. Research data
from Nielsen states that 60% of Indonesians are still afraid to provide credit card information on
the internet for online shopping (Fadhilah, 2016).

In addition, e-commerce also has the potential to increase the hedonic and consumptive
culture in Indonesia. Based on data from the Bolton Consulting Group (BCG), in 2013 the
middle class in Indonesia has reached 74 million people, and is predicted to increase every year
(Fadhilah, 2016). With the increase in the middle class, it will increase consumptive and hedonic
behavior through online shopping in Indonesia, because people will not hesitate to use money to
buy the things they want, moreover they get convenience in making orders and transactions
through online shopping. When experiencing a problem, people will tend to use e-commerce as
the easiest medium to use to find a release and get pleasure by shopping whatever they want. By
using e-commerce, they will be satisfied and happy so they can forget the problems they have
(Saputri & Rachmatan, 2017)

In conclusion, behind the various benefits and conveniences obtained from the emergence
of e-commerce, there are various things that could be a threat to the Indonesian community as
users. First, e-commerce can cause dependence which can lead to additional problems such as
spending habits, debt, and social inequality. The second is criminal acts by using e-commerce on
behalf of large e-commerce companies. The most common crime is fraud which causes millions
of rupiah in losses. Third, the change in people's lifestyles becomes consumptive and hedonic
which causes the purchase of unnecessary goods. When experiencing a problem, people will tend
to use e-commerce as the easiest medium to use to find a release and get pleasure by shopping
whatever they want. Therefore, as e-commerce users, the Indonesian people must be more
careful and have boundaries for themselves. The public is also advised to increase education
about the latent dangers caused by the ease of using e-commerce.

REFERENCES

Cosseboom, Leighton. 2015. 28 popular online shopping sites in Indonesia. (Online),

(https://www.techinasia.com/popular-online-shopping-platformsin-indonesia), diakses
pada 17 Juli 2018.
Fadhilah. 2016. Ekonomi Digital Dalam Rangka Peningkatan Perekonomian Indonesia. (Online),
(https://www.academia.edu/28617137/EKONOMI_DIGITAL_DALAM_RANGKA_PENI
NGKATAN_PEREKONOMIAN_INDONESIA) diakses pada 17 Mei 2018. Kaskus. 2017.
Penipuan Online Shop Shopee. (Online),
(https://www.kaskus.co.id/thread/586e59c160e24b9c2b8b456a/penipuan-online-shop-
shopee/), diakses pada 7 Mei 2018.
Kementrian Informasi dan Komunikasi Republik Indonesia. 2015. Potensi Besar untuk
Pemasukan Negara. (Online),(https://kominfo.go.id/index.php/content/detail/6385/
Potensi+Besar+untuk+Pemasukan+Negara/0/infografis/), diakses pada 17 Juli 2018.
Saputri, A., & Rachmatan, R. (2017). Religiusitas dengan gaya hidup hedonisme: sebuah
gambaran pada mahasiswa Universitas Syiah Kuala. Jurnal Psikologi, 12(2), 59-67.
Yusuf, Oik. 2014. 24 November 2014. Pengguna Internet Indonesia Nomor Enam Dunia.
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Summary Bahasa Indonesia

Argumentative essay ini membahas tentang ancaman dibalik penggunaan e-commerce di

Indonesia. Tetunya posisi penulis disini adalah kontra dengan penggunaan e-commerce. Karena
e-commerce memiliki banyaknya kemudahan dan manfaat, masyarakat tidak menyadari dan
menyoroti banyak bahaya dibelakang kemudahan penggunaan e-commerce. Orang-orang
menganggap penggunaan e-commerce selalu aman dan kendali dengan adanya provider yang
menjembatani. Namun, hal tersebut tidak akurat. E-commerce memiliki ancaman yang
berbahaya dibalik penggunaannya. Beberapa diantaranya adalah bahaya ketergantungan,
ketergantungan, dan perubahan pola hidup hedonisme. Ketergantungan terhadap penggunaan e-
commerce bisa menimbulkan permasalahan tambahan seperti kebiasaan menghamburkan uang,
hutang, dan kesenjangan sosial. Kemudian, tindakan kriminalitas dengan memanfaat e-
commerce dengan mengatas namakan perusahaan besar e-eccomerce juga marak terjadi.
Kriminalitas yang marak terjadi adalah penipuan yang mana menyebabkan kerugian jutaan
rupiah bagi para pengguna, dan hal ini sudah menelan cukup banyak korban. Selanjutnya,
dengan adanya e-commerce perubahaan gaya hidup masyarakat Indonesia menjadi lebih
konsumtif dan hedonis yang menyebabkan pembelian barang-barang yang tidak diperlukan.
Ketika mengalami suatu permasalahan, masyarakat akan cenderung menggunakan e-commerce
sebagai media paling mudah digunakan untuk mencari pelampiasan dan mendapatkan
kesenangan dengan berbelanja apapun yang mereka inginkan. Dengan menggunakan e-
commerce mereka akan puas dan senang sehingga dapat melupakan masalah yang dimiliki.
Penggunaan e-commerce sudah terlalu menyebabkan kemerosotan pola hidup menjadi tidak
seimbang. Oleh karena itu, sebagai pengguna e-commerce, masyarakat Indonesia harus lebih
berhati-hati dan memiliki batasan-batasan bagi dirinya sendiri. Masyarakat juga disarankan
untuk memperbanyak edukasi menganai bahaya laten yang disebabkan oleh kemudahan
penggunaan e-commerce.