TikTok and Bangkok: Students learn digital skills live!

TikTok and Bangkok: Students learn digital skills live!

In an exciting collaboration between TikTok and the city of Bangkok, an innovative learning project under the motto “Smart People” is taking place today. The first class of this initiative has started at Thai Niyom Songkhrak School in Bang Khen and will be broadcast live to 108 other schools. The goal is clear: over 3,000 students should be supported in acquiring digital skills and improving their skills in using social media. TikTok reports, as part of this program, 109 learning laboratories will be set up for face-to-face and online teaching to teach students about online safety and the creation of high-quality content.

At a time when social media plays a central role in everyday life for young people, this is more than just a school project. According to the JIM study 2022, 94% of 12 to 13 year olds in Germany already have a smartphone. The use of social media such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube is not only a trend, but also an important part of identity formation and social interaction. Globally, the TikTok platform has deleted over 85 million videos that violated its rules and suspended over 17 million accounts of users under the age of 13, underscoring the relevance of media literacy. The bpb emphasizes that experts are calling for digital education for young people, parents and teachers in order to improve their use of these media.

Training from well-known creators

An important aspect of the project is training from prominent creators such as Artymilk and Turk_TK, who share expert knowledge on important topics such as community guidelines and personal safety measures when creating content. These young talents teach students specifically how to recognize and report inappropriate content. TikTok wants to create awareness of their own safety online and empower young people to actively and responsibly use digital content. This initiative is no coincidence as the city of Bangkok has made education a priority to combat inequality and strengthen the digital skills of the youth.

It will be particularly exciting for 90 students from Bangkok secondary schools, who will go on an excursion to the Creator House by TikTok from December 6th to 8th, 2023. The aim here is to inspire young people to creatively implement what they have learned and create their own content. TikTok aims to create positive impact through digital skills and creativity, which is quite necessary given the constant competition for attention on social media.

The challenge of the digital world

The importance of digital media literacy cannot be emphasized enough, especially in times when dares are making the rounds on social media and can sometimes become dangerous. The Blackout Challenge is an example of the risks that even seemingly harmless trends can bring. In this context, experts call for a collective responsibility from young people, parents, schools and platform operators to ensure that social media is used not only as a tool for entertainment, but also as a tool for education and personal development.

With the “Smart People” initiative, TikTok, together with the city of Bangkok, wants to take an important step in the right direction by giving young people the tools they need to act safely and creatively in the digital world. Education and media literacy are the key to sustainable development and responsible use of social media. It will be exciting to see how this initiative will develop and what positive effects it will have on young people and society as a whole.