Digital Discernment: A workshop that aims to promote digital citizenship in schools nationwide

As a long-time advocate of, and resource speaker on, digital citizenship, I welcomed the recent collaboration of Globe Telecom, Facebook, and the Department of Education (DepEd) to continue bringing awareness of responsible digital citizenship to public and private schools nationwide, for both teachers and students.

(L-R) Globe Senior Vice President Nikko Acosta, DQ representative Galvin Ngo, Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu, Facebook Head of Community Affairs in Asia Pacific Clair Deevy and DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali

Why is digital citizenship even more important now

As of end-2017, there are now over 60 million internet users. That is 60% of the populace! 52.2 million of the 60 million, roughly half of the entire Philippine population, is mobile, spending over 3 hours on it daily. A Philippine National Police (PNP) report also showed that half of internet users are 17 years old and below.

An international think-tank formed in association with the World Economic Forum, the DQ Institute, revealed in its inaugural 2018 DQ Global Impact Report that 56% of kids aged 8-12 years old worldwide who are online, are exposed to cyber risks. A study of the Philippine internet situation in that report shows that 73% of Filipino children are exposed to cyber risks, the second highest in a study among 29 countries.

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