Indonesia’s term “anak senja” is closely associated with a pensive man or woman enjoying the twilight with a cigarette and a cup of coffee.
“Senja”, or twilight, is the evening atmosphere as the sun begins to set. But Indonesian slang also associates senja with poetic indie kids.
It seems that this trend and Indonesian slang for anak senja is also recognized by foreigners. As shown in the TikTok account @bulepotanyk.
One of his viral videos on TikTok shows him sitting on the edge of a rice field, smoking and enjoying the sunset in the Yogyakarta area.
@bulepotanyk Satu batang sampoerna + senja 🌅 #fypシ゚viraltiktok #viraltiktok #indonesia🇮🇩 #bule #travellife #sunsetlover #ricefields #sawahpadi #senja #sampoerna #speedinindonesia #surya #senja #solotravel #speed #speedcometojogja ♬ suara asli – b
The comment section was filled with comments asking if this stranger was in pain because he looked upset?
One even wrote, “What kind of blonde hurts you, kang?” indicating that the video’s owner was hurting or experiencing heartbreak when he made it.
What is a anak senja?
The phenomenon of twilight children is interesting for expats in Indonesia. So what does it mean to be an anak senja? Senja has many meanings other than just the evening atmosphere when the sun starts to set.
Anak senja is a trend among young people in Indonesia. This kind of person usually likes twilight photography and poetic aesthetic words and is often associated with indie music.
Here are the characteristics of twilight children in Indonesia:
1. Love the sky in the afternoon
If you want to be anak senja, you must love the sky in the afternoon. If you are tired of activities for a full day, then seeing Senja is one of the suitable solutions to enjoy your afternoon.
2. Like to photograph and upload the evening sky
In addition to enjoying the beautiful twilight sky, they also love to capture the moment of twilight using their cellphones or cameras. Of course, they love to upload photos on their social media.
3. Love indie songs
Usually, anak senja enjoys seeing the twilight sky while playing indie songs. They like to wear band T-shirts, and some even play the guitar while enjoying the twilight sky.
4. Love poetry
In addition to uploading photos of sky views, they also complemented the post with poetic captions. The poems created usually have a deep meaning and use beautiful diction. Twilight men may like poems by Joko Pinurbo, while women like to make status with words from Rupi Kaur’s book.
