Youth power in the face of online information challenges

Youth power is an important tool in preventing harmful information. Raising awareness and critical thinking skills helps youth become the core force in building a civilized society.

The contest to learn about Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's ideology is one of the solutions to help train political qualities for young people - Photo: K.ANH

We are ready to be the topic of the discussion on Protecting the Party's ideological foundation among the city's youth union members, which was recently organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union on the afternoon of March 28 at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.

Fighting against false arguments on the internet is a topic that many young people are interested in, but the problem is that they need to be equipped with the skills to identify bad and toxic information and have the ability to debate.

Dr. Le Truong Son, principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, said this is not only a task but also a responsibility of every cadre and party member, including the role of the younger generation.

Responsibility, action and youth power

Master Truong Hoang Duc (Academy of Politics Region II) said that cyberspace has become an indispensable part of today's life. Citing the Digital 2024 announcement, Mr. Duc said that Vietnam has 78.44 million Internet users (79.1% of the population). Of which, 72.55 million people use social networks (18 years old and above).

This number shows the great potential of Vietnamese youth in the digital environment.

Therefore, Master Duc said that this is a foundation that if well utilized can spread positive values, contributing to building a civilized, united and sustainably developed society.

However, the challenge posed by cyberspace, especially the spread of false information, is quite serious. Without verification skills, many people will rush to share inaccurate information, which is even more harmful.

According to Mr. Duc, the destructive rhetoric and false information causing public confusion have never stopped.

"It is necessary to clearly show the role of young people in carrying out political and social tasks through action movements on cyberspace, which must be an important and urgent task," Mr. Duc analyzed.

The strong development of digital technology and the impact of cyberspace, according to Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union Nguyen Dang Khoa, will create more and more false information, spreading bad and toxic views with the aim of shaking people's trust, especially targeting young people.

This requires clear awareness and young people have the responsibility to proactively equip themselves with knowledge and courage to be able to fight to protect what is right and maintain steadfast faith in the chosen path.

Promoting the role of social networks must go hand in hand with raising awareness and skills in using social networks for young people. It is necessary to equip young people with knowledge about network security, skills to identify bad and toxic information, and the ability to debate and fight against false arguments.

Mr. HUYNH TUAN KHUONG (University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City)

Social media skills required

Mr. Huynh Tuan Khuong - Secretary of the Youth Union of the University of Natural Sciences (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said that young people always love their country, have national pride, a sense of responsibility to society and actively participate in volunteer activities for the community. They are dynamic, creative, dare to think, dare to do, quickly absorb scientific and technological advances, contributing to the development of the country.

However, it cannot be denied that there are still some young people who show signs of declining faith and low awareness of law enforcement. Not to mention that there are people who live pragmatically, enjoy life, and pay little attention to political and social issues. Sharing this, the youth leader of this university said that political and ideological education needs to be done systematically and scientifically, avoiding rigidity and dogmatism.

"Educational content needs to be linked to real life, answering the concerns of young people, thereby arousing patriotism and national pride. Methods also need to be diverse, flexible, using technology and social networks to increase interaction and appeal," Mr. Khuong suggested.

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of the Can Gio District Youth Union Trieu Thanh Tuan said it is necessary to equip young people and students with skills to use social networks safely because they are the group that uses social networks the most.

Sharing the method, Mr. Tuan said that the district youth union has paid attention to information so that the social networking site "Tuoi Tre Can Gio" attracts and interacts not only with young people but also with the people. "Thanks to that, a lot of good, official information is spread to everyone and you," Mr. Tuan said.

From the perspective of a Youth Union official, Mr. Huynh Tuan Khuong said that Youth Union - Association activities need to meet the needs and interests, encourage creativity and innovation, and create a platform for young people to demonstrate their initiative and volunteerism. "Young people want to participate in the policy-making process and contribute their opinions on important issues of the country," Mr. Khuong said.

The official information channel must be strong.

Mr. Do Quyet Thang (Deputy Head of Propaganda, Press and Publishing Department of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee) said that it is not easy to fight against distorted information and false arguments on cyberspace, so close coordination between departments, branches and organizations is always needed. According to Mr. Thang, union members and young people have participated well in protecting the Party's ideological foundation.

Therefore, the Youth Union needs to be more persistent in discovering and nurturing the Union's collaborators and reporters and participate more proactively and creatively in cyberspace. "This work is still being continued with cybersecurity solutions because there are certainly many new methods and tricks of different forces and the city's young generation needs to join hands in the coming time," said Mr. Thang.

Mr. Tuan Khuong hopes that there will be attention paid to building official and reputable information channels on social networks to promptly provide accurate information to young people. "Along with the leadership and direction of the Party and State through long-term strategies and plans on youth development, there always needs to be a close assignment and coordination of agencies in carrying out tasks related to youth," Mr. Khuong commented.

Read more Back to Topics

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/suc-manh-thanh-nien-truoc-thu-thach-thong-tin-tren-mang-20250330094142684.htm