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recent study shows that young Internet users in Banten are displaying concerning online habits involving pornography, connecting with strangers and sharing private information.

The results highlight the need for awareness campaigns not only among the youth, but also in schools and with parents.

The study, conducted by the Communications and Information Ministry and UNICEF over three years starting 2011, involved 43.5 million children and adolescents.

The youth live across the 12 provinces of Jakarta, Banten, Yogyakarta, Lampung, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Maluku, West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Kalimantan and West Papua.

The study found 4.4 percent of respondents in Banten admitted to having received pornographic content online from someone they knew.

The number is more than twice that in the second highest province, Lampung (1.6 percent) and nearly five times that of Jakarta (0.9 percent).

'€œBased on all respondents, those aged 14 and 15-years-old were sent pornographic content the most,'€ said Gati Gayatri, the head of the center for research, literacy and professional development at the ministry.

The study shows that 6.6 percent of male respondents, compared to 3.8 percent of female respondents, had received pornographic content from an acquaintance.

Meanwhile, 5.3 percent of 14 and 15-year-olds had received pornographic content, followed by 2.8 percent of 16 and 17-year-olds.

'€œBanten also leads in the number of respondents in that area '€” 10.4 percent '€” saying that they have accidentally accessed a pornographic site while browsing online,'€ Gati added.

The study shows that Lampung takes second position with 6 percent while Jakarta assumes fifth spot at 2.2 percent.

Besides accessing pornographic content, the survey also showed that youth in Banten engaged more in '€œrisky digital behavior'€ involving the sharing of private information on the Internet, she said.

'€œAs much as 19.5 percent of respondents from Banten say they share the name of their schools with their online contacts, with Jakarta next in line with 9.43 percent,'€ she added.

She further noted that Banten was first in terms of the number of respondents sharing private phone numbers (10.06 percent) and home addresses online (6.6 percent). Jakarta came in second with 2.83 percent of respondents sharing phone numbers and 3.46 percent giving out home addresses.

She added that overall, 41 percent of all respondents had lied about their age '€œwith obvious safety
implications'€ considering that one-quarter of respondents interacted online with people they did not know.

'€œUp to 9.1 percent of respondents in Banten said they had communicated with strangers on the Internet, higher than Jakarta at 4.1 percent. The phenomenon is prevalent among boys, with 12.6 percent of all male respondents admitting to doing so,'€ she said.

And when it came to online bullying, Gati pointed out that 94 percent of all respondents opposed the publication of indecent words.

'€œHowever, 58 percent of all respondents were unaware of the existence of online bullying,'€ she said.

She added the survey results highlighted the overall lack of awareness of online risks among youths. Compounding that was parents'€™ lack of understanding on using the Internet.

Therefore, the government and various non-governmental bodies must raise awareness on safe Internet usage among not only the youth, but their parents and teachers.

'€œThis is necessary because digital media has become a key part in the life and development of the young generation,'€ she said.