By Joy Lawrence

100-level students of the Department of Mass Communication, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), on Friday, July 10, 2026, organised a media literacy campaign for senior secondary school students at Day Secondary School, Enugu. The outreach also served as a practical research project for 300-level Mass Communication students in Clusters 3 and 9, who administered pre- and post-campaign questionnaire to assess the students‘ knowledge level of media literacy before and after the programme.

The campaign, themed “Teens and Digital Engagement: Own Your Feed, Own Your Mind,” aimed to educate students on the safe and responsible use of digital media while assessing their knowledge of media literacy.

Before the campaign commenced, copies of questionnaire were distributed to the students as part of a research project titled “The Impact of Media Literacy Education on Day Secondary School Students, Enugu.” A second set of questionnaire was administered after the programme to evaluate what the students had learned.

Speaking during the programme, Nwobodo Chioma Rita, the first speaker, educated the students on “Understanding the Digital World” and the dangers associated with it. She highlighted issues such as misinformation and fake news, deepfakes and AI-generated content, cyberbullying, online scams, invasion of privacy, and exposure to inappropriate online content as the negative consequences of the social media

She also introduced the SIFT method as a practical guide for verifying online information. According to her, “Users should Stop, Investigate the Source, Find Better Coverage, and Trace the Original Content before believing or sharing information found online.

The second speaker, Abigail Godwin, educated the students on the topic, “Staying Safe Online.”. During her presentation, videos were projected to demonstrate how deepfake technology works and the dangers it poses. She also shared practical internet safety tips, including protecting personal information, enabling privacy settings, using strong passwords, avoiding suspicious links, downloading applications only from trusted sources, shopping on secure websites, and thinking carefully before posting on social media.

The third speaker, Alum Angel Chiamaka while speaking on the topic, “Digital Skills,” encouraged the students to acquire skills that could help them earn income online. She identified digital marketing, graphic design, content creation, and video editing as valuable skills that young people can learn and use to earn online.

Speaking after the event, Chukwuene Rejoice said her passion for computers motivated her to participate in the programme.

“I became interested in the campaign immediately I saw the banner on media literacy because I believed it would be an interesting topic. I have learned about digital skills like graphic design and content creation, as well as the dangers in the digital space. I have also seen cases of cyberbullying, and today I learned the importance of not sharing private information online,” she said.

Also speaking, Ugwu Promise Amarachi, a 300-level Mass Communication student, commended the department for providing students with practical research experience.

“I appreciate the department for this opportunity and our lecturer, Dr. Ekwe Okwudili, for giving us real experience on how research is conducted. It has helped prepare us for our final-year research project,” she said.

Highlights of the campaign was the award of scholarship to students of the Day Secondary School after their outstanding performances. The lecturer in charge, Dr. Ekwe Okwudili, on behalf of the department offered to pay the First Term school fees of four students which include: Chukwuene Rejoice, Chiemerene Faustina Daberechi, Odo Joan, and Ugwu Divine Munachi.

The programme ended with group photographs involving the 100-level campaign team, the 300-level research students, lecturer, and students of Day Secondary School, marking the successful conclusion of the media literacy outreach.

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