Digital literacy, awareness programme launched in Assam
Guwahati, May 20 (PTI): Guwahati Police commissioner Harmeet Singh on Friday urged youth to engage responsibly on social media and only with its positive aspects, underlining that they cannot be expected to remain off it altogether as networking sites are the new means of communication.
He also requested students to use social media platforms for its benefits rather than “wasting time scrolling aimlessly”.
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“To be safe, you need to think. Social media is the new idiom of communication. We must navigate to stay safe,” Singh said at the launch of a digital literacy and awareness programme for adolescents and youth in Assam here.
Technology company Meta, erstwhile Facebook Inc, partnered with the Assam Police to roll out the initiative with an aim of creating a safer online environment, a release said.
“Follow good creative pages, engage in social media platforms for learning creative arts and educating yourselves rather than aimlessly scrolling and not getting the most out of it,” the senior officer said.
Singh added that the Assam Police would always lend support to people reporting cybercrimes.
Speaking on the occasion, Ghanshyam Dass, secretary, IT Department of Assam, said students should be encouraged to double check before sharing any information on social media platforms, be it with friends or any known or unknown persons.
In a similar vein, Satya Yadav, head, Trust and Safety, Facebook India (Meta), said, “When it comes to young people, our platforms are designed to ensure responsible empowerment along with age appropriate safeguards.
“We are constantly innovating technology to ensure that youth benefit from our platforms while they continue to feel safe. As per a report from 2019, around 31% of internet users in India were between the ages of 12-19. With that in mind, this partnership will create an ecosystem for educating young people to use the internet that is not only safe but can enable them to grow,” he added.
Built on Meta’s We Think Digital initiative, this partnership aims to train around 10,000 youth from various schools and colleges across Assam, an official release here said.
The training modules will focus on all aspects of cyber security and basics of digital literacy, including Internet browsing, cyber bullying, extortion, Darknet services, trolling, identity theft among other issues.
