Peer-reviewed article
Exploring the link between digital literacy and safety among Kenyan children
Etyang, Collins Orono ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between digital literacy training and online safety among Kenyan children aged 12–17. Researchers compared children who had received the Mtoto News Digital Literacy training programme with those who had not, using questionnaires to assess their digital safety practices and knowledge. Children with digital literacy training were less likely to experience harm online and showed stronger skills in password security and two-factor authentication, though even untrained children could identify fake news.
Key points
- Children who completed digital literacy training were less likely to be harmed in the digital space compared to untrained peers
- Trained children demonstrated stronger abilities in setting strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication
- TikTok was the most consumed social media platform among respondents, followed by Instagram and Facebook
- Both trained and untrained children could identify what fake news is
- The study identified barriers to effective digital literacy training in Kenya, though specific barriers are not detailed in the abstract
Limitations
The document does not specify what the identified barriers to digital literacy training are. The sample size is small (32 children per group) and the study design does not clearly establish causality or account for other factors that might influence online safety behaviour.
Abstract
Digital literacy is widely viewed as a key component in safeguarding online safety among children. For children to be safe online, they ought to be aware of the dangers and opportunities existing in the digital space. Therefore, they ought to possess the ability to make critical decisions about the kind of content that they encounter online. The objectives of this study were to examine the type and level of digital literacy among Kenyan children, to determine the link between digital literacy and digital safety among Kenyan children, and to identify barriers to effective digital literacy training among children in Kenya. The theories of Digital Literacy, the cultivation theory of media and communication, the theory of social cognition developed by Albert Bandura, and the Media Literacy theories guided this study. A quantitative research approach and a comparative research design were employed to investigate the link between digital literacy and digital safety. A sample size of two sets of 32 children between the ages of 12 to 14 and 12 to 17 was identified, one set comprising 16 children who have undergone digital literacy training and another comprising those who have not. A similar questionnaire was administered to both respondents to gauge how they would respond to the questions. The study targeted children who have undergone the Mtoto News Digital literacy training programme and those who have not undergone the training. The study found that children who have undergone digital literacy training are less likely to be harmed in the digital space compared to their untrained counterparts. The study also found TikTok to be the most consumed social media platform, followed by Instagram and Facebook. Children with digital literacy training were also found to possess strong skills in setting strong passwords and setting up two-factor authentication as a precautionary measure for their online safety. Additionally, the study found out that children without Digital literacy training could identify what fake news is.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Mtoto News Digital Literacy training programme
- Population
- Kenyan children aged 12–17; comparison groups of 16 trained and 16 untrained children
Key finding
Children with digital literacy training were less likely to be harmed in the digital space compared to untrained counterparts