Attitudes Toward Divorce in Indonesia

Amidst rising divorce cases in post-Reformasi Indonesia (1998–present), little is known about public attitudes toward divorce. Using individual-level data from the 2018 World Values Survey for Indonesia (N = 3,200), this paper examines trends and correlates of attitudes toward divorce, focusing on the role of social media use. Unlike neighboring countries, Indonesia shows higher disapproval of divorce, with about half of the respondents fully objecting to it. The relatively high disapproval amidst rising divorce cases suggests a disconnect between attitudes and behaviors regarding divorce. Multivariate analysis suggests that daily social media users have more permissive attitudes toward divorce than weekly users. On one hand, this finding seemingly aligns with greater visibility of alternative family structures through mainstream and social media, following the fall of the New Order government (1966–1998), but the association between social media use and divorce acceptance is non-linear. Paradoxically, compared to Western settings, Muslims, rural residents, and older adults aged 65+ demonstrate more permissive attitudes toward divorce, reflecting historically more common divorce practices in Indonesia prior to the New Order era. These results suggest a complex interplay between historical practices, social media exposure, and changing social norms in shaping attitudes to divorce in contemporary Indonesia.