Several respondents were unaware of the dangers of uploading personal data.Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's digital culture index increased in 2021 as compared to 2020, according to results of the 2021 Digital Literacy Index survey conducted by the Communication and Informatics Ministry.
The survey not only aims to identify the level of digital literacy in Indonesia but also to ensure that attempts made to boost the people's digital literacy were effective.
"We will continuously expedite and monitor the level of digital literacy of the community in accordance with the rapid developments in digital technology and the strategic roles nowadays," Director General of Informatics Application at the ministry Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan remarked at the release of the survey’s result on Thursday.
Digital culture, digital skills, digital ethics, and digital security were the four aspects assessed during the survey.
The digital culture aspect clocked the highest score, at 3.9 points, on a scale of up to 5 points, which was considered a good level.
Meanwhile, the aspects of digital ethics, digital skills, and digital safety recorded 3.53 points, 3.44 points, and 3.10 points respectively.
The survey was conducted by the ministry in collaboration with a digital literacy social movement platform SiBerkreasi as well as an online media and research company, Katadata.
Expert Panel of the Katadata Insight Center (KIC) Mulya Amri noted that the overall score of the 2021 Indonesian Digital Literacy Index was recorded at 3.49 points, which was viewed to be at a moderately good level.
An increase of 0.03 points was recorded in the 2021 Indonesian Digital Literacy Index as compared to the score obtained in 2020.
The expert drew attention to several changes regarding the assessed digital aspects in 2021.
“The changes aim to ensure that Indonesia has a firm measuring tool on digital literacy. Currently, we have a roadmap to measure and improve the literacy level," he stated.
The assessment of the 2021 Digital Literacy Index was conducted through a face-to-face survey involving 10 thousand internet users aged 13-70 years from 514 districts and cities across Indonesia.
An improvement in the digital culture and digital skills aspect was observed in the 2021 survey. However, a decline occurred in the digital ethics and digital safety aspects.
Amri noted that the digital safety aspect -- which received the lowest score -- was a cause for concern.
"Several respondents were unaware of the dangers of uploading personal data," he stated.
In addition to assessing the literacy index, the survey analyzed Indonesian internet users’ behavior, especially in handling hoaxes. Earlier, they relied on close contacts to check the authenticity of the fake news. However, nowadays, they have started to use search engines to find the truth.
Analysis of the survey results also pointed to the need to improve digital literacy among women, elderly, low-income groups, and people with low education.
The survey, which used the multistage random sampling method, took place in October 2021. Its results can be read and downloaded through status.literasidigital.id.
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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Uyu Liman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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