After TikTok, Lato-Lato Becomes New Sensation in Indonesia

Teuku Wisnu main lato lato (https://www.instagram.com/p/CnJMFLcj6ql/) — Actor Teuku Wisnu plays lato lato. (https://www.instagram.com/p/CnJMFLcj6ql/)

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - If you currently live in Indonesia, chances are you may have heard some "tock-tock-tock" sound around the corner. The sounds came from the sensational toy called lato-lato.

Simplicity is the best elegance, just like lato-lato's design. It's simply just two plastic balls connected by a string. And people just play it like yo-yo as the two balls hit each other.

The popularity does not stop for kids. Some celebs started to play it, a wedding was using lato-lato to create musical effect, a police showed tutorial how to play lato-lato (he later apologized, although many netizens were baffled that he was made to apologize), and even President Joko Widodo looked happy when playing this toy alongside Governor of West Java Ridwan Kamil.

Some of the boys preferred to collect lato-lato in different colors and sizes, and that brought fortune to toy-sellers. One toy-seller in Jakarta, Juleha, said she could gain up to one million rupiah from selling lato-lato in one day.

One of the biggest marketplaces in Indonesia also witnessed its popularity.

"On Tokopedia, the sales from lato-lato toys were rising to nearly 57 times at the moment of new year 2022-2023," said Head of External Communications Tokopedia, Ekhel Chandra Wijaya.

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Lato-lato itself is not a new toy. Similar toy called clackers is also on sale in the United States.

The popularity in Indonesia also prompted experts to speak up. One of the supporting opinions said this toy could keep children away from their smartphones.

Just like in other East and Southeast Asian countries, smartphone games are immensely popular in Indonesia. Not just adults and teenagers, the children are also often seen busy playing games on their phones.

"Children essentially have excess energy that must be channelled through positive activities and beneficial for their developments. Not to mention these days children cannot be apart from phones. With this game, children will start to not concentrate on the games on their phones," said Yudha Febrianta, a sports lecturer at Muhammadiyah University of Purwokerto.

However, recently people have found the online version for lato-lato.

Permainan lato-lato beberapa minggu ini menjadi perbincangan hampir seluruh masyarakat Indonesia

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Child Protection Commission Gave Warning

Rido, warga asrama Polisi Talun, Kecamatan Garut Kota, akhirnya berhasil meraih hadiah uang cash Rp 1 juta dari Kapolres Garut dalam sayembara Lato-lato penyambutan tahun baru 2023. (Liputan6.com/Jayadi Supriadin) — A young man named Rido won 1 million rupiah from Garut police on a lato-lato competition. Photo: Liputan6.com/Jayadi Supriadin

The Child Protection Commission has a reservation toward lato-lato's popularity. One problem that the commission highlighted was the inappropriate time to play lato-lato.

Commissioner Dian Sasmita asked the parents to monitor their children when they played this toy. She cited a boy who injured his eye because lato-lato.

"Playing lato-lato is not as simple as its sounds. The popularity of children who play lato-lato is crossing the line because it's being played in all places. Not entirely the children's faults," said Dian in her statement.

Dian said playing lato-lato could establish closeness between parents and children, but she emphasized the parents must teach the children about ethics about where to play the toy.

"This is where the parents/nannies must not overlook. Introduce the children with culture/ethics for playing so that the children understand that not every place is a place to become a playing room," said Dian.

Henry and Fitri Haryanti Harsono contributed to this report.