Online Gambling Alarm: Junior High Students Taught to Recognise Its Modes

The Communication and Informatics Office (Diskominfo) of Singkawang City has completed the “Kominfo Digital Literacy Enters the Classroom 2026” programme in five junior high schools (SMP) as an effort to strengthen students’ digital skills while preventing social media misuse and online gambling practices among teenagers. Head of the Singkawang Kominfo Office, Chantal Novyanti, stated that the programme was implemented to coincide with the School Environment Introduction Period (MPLS) so that students gain an understanding of healthy digital space usage from the moment they enter the school environment. “Kominfo Digital Literacy Enters the Classroom is a routine annual programme that we carry out in conjunction with MPLS so that digital education can be received by students early on,” Chantal said in Singkawang on Sunday (19/7/2026). The programme reached five schools: SMP Negeri 5, SMP Negeri 8, SMP Negeri 9, SMP Barito, and SMP Santo Tarsisius. According to Chantal, evaluation results show that students’ enthusiasm for the digital literacy programme is quite high. Despite this, her office still finds challenges in the form of unwise internet and social media use, including a tendency for students to excessively access content that is not beneficial. She assessed that technological developments open up great opportunities for students to obtain information, but at the same time increase the risk of exposure to negative content, including online gambling practices that are increasingly targeting teenagers. Therefore, Diskominfo equipped students with materials on social media ethics, the importance of verifying information before sharing it, personal data protection, and the various modes of online gambling dissemination that frequently appear through social media, online games, and internet advertisement links. “We hope schools will pay more attention to student behaviour in utilising digital media. Kominfo has a role in providing education and literacy, but guidance is a shared responsibility between schools, parents, and all elements of society,” Chantal said.