Parents have to know what children can do with a gadget, what websites they can access.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Digital literacy is an initial step for protecting children from bullying and violence online or cyberbullying, director of family, women, children, youth, and sports at the National Development Planning Ministry, Woro Srihastuti Sulistyaningrum, has said.

"The foundational effort that can be done is to provide comprehensive understanding, knowledge, and education to improve people's digital literacy," she said here on Thursday.

Digital literacy is necessary for both parents and children, she added. This is so that they can get cyberbullying-related insights on risk, prevention, and accurate aid services.

"The provided education is not just limited to definition and factors that contribute to bullying, but also what can children and teenagers do when they experience the issue," she said.

According to Sulistyaningrum, the ideal age to introduce children to the online world is around 13–14 years.

Children from this age group are considered to have obtained adequate knowledge of technology from parents in addition to constant monitoring so they can use digital technology well.

"However, we have to remember that, during COVID-19, all children were holding a gadget. There should be supervision from parents," she said.

"Parents have to know what children can do with a gadget, what websites they can access, and so on," she added.

In addition, Sulistyaningrum emphasized the need for people to be more aware of incidents occurring around them, such as signs of violence against children.

"We also need to educate people to be able to identify if vulnerability from violence has emerged. The people cannot just ignore them," she remarked.

"Meanwhile, the government will discuss regulations and others to strengthen (violence against children prevention)," she added.

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Translator: Arnidhya Nur Z, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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