We now live in the digital age. Most of us have mobile phones and can access the internet. This means that we can be economically empowered by using mobile phones or laptops and the internet. If we are not empowered--or cannot make money--it means that there is something lacking in the way we use this technology.
The study of economic anthropology looks at the phenomenon of exchange. Exchange is not just money, but many related things; an economic transaction can be a deal after a simple exchange--namely information. Money and information or communication influence each other so that economic transactions can occur.
The phenomenon of exchange in anthropology is called reciprocity. Both of these things involve many things, such as religion, technology, ecology, politics, and so on. This means that these things can encourage mutual exchange and economic distribution.
The famous ethnographer Bronislaw Malinowski has a masterpiece in anthropology. The title is Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922). There, he discusses the phenomenon of reciprocity in the Trobriand Islands. Malinowski saw that the Trobriand people were willing to risk their lives on a long voyage, in order to give trinkets - bracelets and necklaces - for free.
He then concluded that the exchange was related to politics. Not barter, because barter is the exchange of two goods or services that are the same in quantity or quality and begins with the agreement of both parties. However, this exchange - called kula - is a gift that is expected to occur "in series" between individuals; there is an expectation that a gift will be reciprocated with another gift of the same or greater value.
The gift moves people to reciprocate in the form of another gift. If brought to the current digital context, a person's "gift" of likes, comments, or shares, there is a possibility that it will be reciprocated by the individual, especially if they know each other. Although in the digital world, there are times when the "gift" is not reciprocated by other individuals because they do not expect to receive a "gift" from that person. However, the closeness of giving each other personally has the potential to continue to giving each other in other forms.
Exchange will not be possible if one party is not symmetrical in the sense of not having the capacity. Digitally, if someone wants to be empowered, they must have digital capacity, such as the ability to operate a computer device, know and be skilled in using applications, and act creatively.
If in the past people could get money from office work, now people can get money just from in front of a computer. Someone who practices making pictures/flyers, if developed, can make money. He doesn't have to live in the capital, he just needs to live in a location with good internet and has adequate equipment.
Personal capacity can be increased by learning. Learning begins with curiosity and continues with trial and error. On average, people who can create digital works try, there are definitely mistakes there but from those mistakes they learn.
Wasn't Facebook also the result of trial and error which was then used in a limited community, liked, developed and finally became global and made the founder rich? In exchange, people don't have to be burdened with "waste money get money." It doesn't have to be there. Money is one thing, but money is not the only thing that must be obtained in exchange.
A more powerful exchange can have an impact on trust. If we are trusted, we can get many things, including money, facilities, good name, promotion, and so on. People who only think that the economy is money need to change that mindset. The economy is apparently related to trust, access, and inspiration.
If you meet a rich person, don't think about emptying his wallet. But, get the story, how the story behind his struggle to become rich. The story is certainly not just spoken, and if we get the story at the right moment, it will definitely have a significant impact on our capacity of awareness.
This means that improving the economy using digital does not only require technical skills, but also requires communication, trust, and even sincerity. That sincerity can bring sustenance. There are many people who were initially poor but because they were sincere, they finally got a "windfall" (durian runtuh), became rich or at least became independent and empowered individuals.
YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.
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