Bandung, January 13, 2023 – The accelerated development of digital technology should be accompanied by increased digital literacy skills in every technology user, especially for children and adolescents. Responding to this phenomenon, a team of lecturers from the Faculty of Communication and Business (FKB) Telkom University, held an activity entitled Development of Digital Literacy and Cyber Security Awareness for Teenagers on Friday, January 13, 2023 as a form of Community Service (Abdimas) program.

Located at the RW 06 Gumuruh office, this activity targeted groups of children and adolescents in the Gumuruh Village area, Batununggal District, Bandung City. This event was a form of collaboration with Karang Taruna 06 Gumuruh, and presented four resource persons from the lecturers of the Communication Science and Digital Public Relations study programs, who are competent in their fields, including Nisa Nurmauliddiana Abdullah, M.I.Kom, Sarah D. Ekaputri, M.I.Kom, Haris Annisari Indah, M.I.Kom, and Fiqie Lavani Melano, M.I.Kom.

“Digital literacy is indeed one of the skills included in the 21st Century Skill Set, which is no longer a bargain, it must be owned by everyone to be successful in the digital era. We want groups of children and adolescents who are actively surfing in this cyber world to not only be good at using it, but know how to wisely use the internet, especially social media, “said Nisa as a lecturer in the University Communication Science study program as well as the Chief Executive of this Abdimas activity.

Through this activity, children and adolescents are invited to be more critical in using digital media so that their use can provide benefits, and can prevent them from various risks of threats that may occur on the internet. These threats include cyberbullying, online gender-based violence, and phishing.

Adding to Nisa’s statement, according to Sarah, who was also a resource person in this activity, digital literacy skills consist of 4 components, namely capable, ethical, safe, and cultured in digital media. For this reason, children and adolescents need to be given awareness regarding internet ethics and equipped with tips to stay safe on the internet to avoid existing threats.

“We equip children and teenagers with simple and basic but very important tips to keep them safe in the cyber world. For example, by not sharing social media passwords with anyone, not revealing personal data, OTP codes, and so on,” Sari said.

Even though it was held at night, the participants seemed enthusiastic because the activities organized by lecturers and students of FKB Telkom University were packed in a “fun” way with games and attractive prizes for active participants.

“Seeing the enthusiasm of the children, we hope this activity can continue and target more children and teenagers in Greater Bandung,” concluded Fiqie. Research