When Volcanoes Erupt, Don't Let Smartphones 'Explode' Too

By: Rahmah Hastuti, M.Psi., Psychologist

JurnalPost.com - There is something intriguing every time a disaster strikes: learning spaces can change far faster than our psychological readiness to face them.

When Mount Anak Krakatau erupts again and volcanic ash impacts several regions, educational activities must adapt accordingly.

In Banten, for instance, remote learning (PJJ) was implemented from September 7–9, 2026, for various education levels as a preparedness measure. The safety, health, and comfort of the school community are prioritized, while the implementation of learning is adjusted to local conditions.

This policy is certainly reasonable.

If the school environment is unsafe, children should not be forced to attend just to maintain a learning routine.

However, there is a question that I believe is deeper than just whether remote learning can be carried out effectively.

Are we truly adaptive?

Because educational adaptation is not merely the ability to move a classroom from a school space to a smartphone screen.

Home Is Not Necessarily an Ideal Learning Space

Indonesia has gone through a period when almost all educational activities moved to the home.

The Covid-19 pandemic made teachers, lecturers, students, and parents familiar with Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, Learning Management Systems (LMS), and various digital learning platforms.

However, that long experience does not mean all remote learning issues have been resolved.

We need to remember that Indonesia is not a country with uniform learning space conditions.

There are children who have their own rooms, laptops, stable Wi-Fi connections, and parents who can support their learning process.

However, there are also children who can only participate in learning using their parents' smartphones.

Some have to share devices with their siblings.

Some study in the middle of a busy household.

Some study while helping with family chores.

There are also parents who have to recalculate household expenses because they need additional internet data for their children to study.

These differences in conditions are not always visible to teachers or lecturers from behind the screen.

Therefore, we must be careful when evaluating student behavior.

A child who turns off their camera during an online class does not necessarily disrespect their teacher.

A student who is late joining a class is not necessarily undisciplined.

A student who seems to lose concentration is not necessarily lazy.

There could be a situation that is not visible from the screen.

In a context like this, empathy needs to be part of pedagogy, especially when education takes place in the midst of a disaster situation.

Psychological perspectives teach that human behavior cannot be separated from the context being faced.

When someone is in a situation full of uncertainty, they can become more easily anxious, have difficulty concentrating, get tired quickly, or constantly seek information to ensure that they and their families are safe.

Such responses need to be understood proportionally.

Not every anxiety should immediately be considered a psychological disorder. In many disaster situations, worry and vigilance are actually human responses to threats.

Therefore, when a disaster occurs, schools do not only have the task of ensuring that lesson materials continue.

Schools also need to be spaces that help students maintain a sense of security.

We Have Technology, but Do We Have Self-Regulation?

This is where a paradox arises.

When school moves to the home, the smartphone becomes increasingly important.

That small device turns into a classroom, library, communication tool, place to receive assignments, source of information, and at the same time, a gateway to knowing the development of the disaster.

However, on the same device, there is social media, short videos, games, entertainment, group chats, and notifications that seem to never stop.

The boundary between using the internet to learn and continuing to use the internet because it is difficult to stop eventually becomes thinner.

This is what needs to be watched, especially in children and adolescents.

In psychological studies, there is a term known as Problematic Internet Use (PIU) or problematic internet use.

PIU is not solely determined by how long someone is on the internet.

Someone can use the internet for a long time because it is indeed necessary for learning or work.

Problems start to arise when internet use becomes difficult to control and clearly interferes with daily life functions, such as learning, sleep, social relationships, health, or psychological well-being.

In a disaster situation, these issues can become more complex.

Imagine a child who feels anxious because they heard news about an eruption.

They pick up a smartphone to look for information updates.

Initially, they only wanted to look at information for five minutes.

But five minutes turns into thirty minutes.

Looking for official information shifts to reading comments.

Reading comments then turns into watching a video.

After the first video is finished, the next video appears.

Then another video after that.

In the end, the child may not understand the situation that is happening any better.

They actually become more anxious.

The smartphone that was initially used to seek a sense of security can turn into a device that prolongs anxiety.

Therefore, digital literacy alone is not enough.

Children also need digital self-regulation: the ability to understand when technology needs to be used, for what purpose, for how long, and when they need to stop.

Don't Let Remote Learning Mean 'Online All Day'

There is one mistake that needs to be avoided when remote learning is implemented in a disaster situation: moving the entire school schedule intact to the screen.

Six hours of learning at school is then replaced by six hours in front of a device.

Lessons take place through applications.

Assignments come through groups.

Discussions are conducted online.

Information is provided via social media.

Evaluations are done using digital platforms.

As a result, the child does not go to school, but psychologically, it is as if they never really left school.

In fact, remote learning in a disaster situation should have a different character than learning in normal circumstances.

The duration and pattern of learning can be adjusted to the needs and conditions of the students.

This is important because remote learning during a disaster is not a race to maintain as many face-to-face hours as possible through a screen.

What should be maintained is the meaningfulness of the learning process.

Children continue to learn, but have the opportunity to rest.

Students remain productive without losing sleep time.

Teachers continue to carry out the education process without having to flood students with assignments.

Lecturers continue to maintain learning achievements, but at the same time understand that the psychological condition of students may not be the same as on normal days.

Adaptation requires flexibility.

If old methods are forced when the situation has changed, that is not adaptation. We are just moving the problem to a different place.

Disasters Are Also a Test of Critical Thinking

There is another ability that is increasingly important in disaster situations, namely critical thinking or thinking critically.

Disasters are almost always followed by a very fast flow of information.

Old photos can circulate again and be considered the latest photos.

Videos from other regions can be claimed as documentation of an eruption that just happened.

Chain messages can spread panic.

Information that does not have a clear source can be forwarded many times.

Meanwhile, sensational headlines can make the situation feel far more terrible than the actual facts.

This is where education has an important role.

Children and students need to be accustomed to asking a few simple questions when receiving information:

Who is saying it?

Where is the source of the information?

When was the information created?

Is there confirmation from an official source?

Is what I am reading a fact or an opinion?

And one question that is no less important:

Does this information help me make a safe decision or does it make me even more panicked?

Critical thinking does not mean always being suspicious of all information.

Critical thinking is the ability not to be in a hurry to believe something before doing a check.

In a disaster situation, such skills are no longer just academic competencies.

They are life skills.

Five Guidelines for Remote Learning During a Disaster

There are at least five principles that can be a shared guide when remote learning is applied due to a disaster situation.

First, do not sacrifice safety for attendance.

If the environment is not safe, safety must be placed first. Academic attendance should not be more important than the health of the students.

Second, do not assume all homes have the same conditions.

Not every student has an adequate device, a stable internet network, a quiet study space, or equal family support.

Third, do not turn remote learning into an obligation to stare at a screen all day.

Learning does require concentration, but concentration also requires rest.

Fourth, do not spread unverified information.

In a disaster situation, one piece of incorrect information can increase the anxiety and panic of many people.

Fifth, do not be too quick to label.

Before saying a child is lazy, a student is undisciplined, or parents are indifferent, it is better for us to ask first:

What are they actually facing?

Conversely, there are five things that can be done: prioritizing safety, using trusted sources of information, simplifying learning without losing the goal, setting limits on smartphone use, and maintaining humane communication.

Teachers can ask their students, “Are you okay?”

Lecturers can say to students, “If there are obstacles due to the disaster condition, please communicate them.”

Parents can ask their children, “What do you need to be able to study comfortably?”

Simple questions like that are sometimes far more meaningful than just asking, “Have you done your homework?”

We Need Resilient Education, Not Rigid Education

The eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau reminds us again that education must be able to live side by side with uncertainty.

When a child learns about volcanic eruptions, they certainly need to know what a volcano is, how an eruption occurs, and what must be done to save themselves.

However, disaster education should not stop there.

Children also need to learn how to manage anxiety.

How to find the right information.

How to distinguish facts from rumors.

How to make decisions calmly.

How to help others.

And how to use technology without losing control over themselves.

This means that disaster education should not only contain evacuation procedures.

Disaster education also needs to touch on psychological, social, and digital aspects.

Are We Already Adaptive?

Perhaps the answer is: we have learned to adapt, but we have not finished becoming adaptive.

The pandemic taught us how to move the classroom to the screen.

The volcanic eruption reminds us that this ability must be used in a more humane way.

We do not only need digital adaptation, but also human adaptation.

The ability to change without drowning in panic.

The ability to use technology without being enslaved by it.

The ability to receive so much information without losing critical power.

The ability to remain productive without sacrificing psychological health.

And most importantly, the ability to still see the human behind a screen.

The mountain may erupt.

School may have to move to the home.

Classes may move to the screen.

But do not let us lose our sense of security, empathy, and the child's ability to regulate themselves in the effort to maintain the continuity of education.

Because resilient education is not education that forces everything to keep running normally when the situation is indeed not normal.

Resilient education is education that understands when to change, how that change is carried out, and who must be protected first.

And perhaps, that is where the true meaning of adaptation lies.

Author Biography

Rahmah Hastuti, M.Psi., Psychologist is a Permanent Lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Tarumanagara University, and a doctoral student in the Psychology Program. Her research focus includes educational psychology, family, and student development in the digital era.