COMMUNITY | Online safety campaign warns students: “What you post could last forever”

MANILA — Students are being urged to think twice before sharing their lives online, as internet activity can leave a lasting trail vulnerable to abuse by cybercriminals.

Speaking to high school students at the 2025 AngelNet Summit hosted by the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, Smart Communications senior manager Elijah Mendoza warned that online posts are far from temporary.

“As a rule, if you can’t confidently do it in person, it may not be a good idea to show it online,” Mendoza said. “Remember, once you post something on the internet, it is likely to stay there forever. It may never disappear.”

Mendoza’s message came under the #BeCyberSmart initiative, a digital safety campaign by PLDT and Smart aimed at encouraging responsible online behavior and raising awareness about threats such as scams and oversharing.

He reminded students that seemingly harmless details—daily routines, photos of bedrooms, or even pet names—can be exploited by bad actors. Mendoza also advised students to review privacy settings and manage their social media friends lists regularly.

“The key is mindfulness,” he said. “You wouldn’t hand over the key to your house to a random person. It’s the same in the digital world. Be careful who you share your personal information with.”

PLDT and Smart say the campaign supports a broader cybersecurity effort to protect Filipino users, especially children and teens. In the first quarter of 2025, the companies’ cybersecurity team blocked more than 338,000 attempts to access online child sexual abuse material and blacklisted over 1.7 million related URLs.

The effort is part of the PLDT Group’s alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 16, which promotes just, peaceful, and inclusive societies, and seeks to end all forms of abuse and violence against children.

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