Overview:
As Palau’s children spend more hours online each day, experts warn that online grooming, harmful algorithms and AI tools are becoming harder to navigate. Advocate Joleen Ngoriakl says stronger, culturally informed digital literacy is urgently needed.
By: Summer Kennard
Koror, Palau (December 4, 2025)— As children in Palau go online at increasingly younger ages, digital literacy and online safety advocates say the country must urgently strengthen its approach to teaching safe and responsible technology use.
In an interview, Joleen Ngoriakl, who leads the Palau Digital Citizenship Initiative, said that while no national data exists on the exact age children begin accessing the internet, early exposure is widespread. “Children as young as toddlers watch YouTube and Netflix online,” she said.
Internet Access Growing Among Children
Ngoriakl noted that while formal data is lacking, internet access for children is far more common than a decade ago. “From my experience interviewing people, internet is very accessible to kids today compared to 10 years ago before the fiber optic connection,” she said. According to her, this increased access is driven by the fact that “internet is cheaper today and widely available, and that mobile devices like tablets and phones are affordable today and children are using them.”
Are Adults Aware of Children’s Online Habits?
Teachers may have the clearest view into children’s digital habits, Ngoriakl said. “Maybe teachers understand this more than anyone of us, because when I talk to parents, they know and say their kids are online but I’m not sure everyone knows just how much time they spend online and what sites and platforms they use.”
A survey conducted among 8th graders during the Digital Smart Squad Youth Forum in September revealed that “the majority of respondents (70%) spend three or more hours online per day, with a significant portion of them (34%) spending over 6 hours a day online.” She added that most students showed strong awareness of safety tools, with “85% of them knowing how to change privacy settings and 94% reporting that they have used the block and report features.”
“This is a really good indicator for Palau and the work we’re doing on online safety,” she said. “But we still have a lot to do as this technology evolves rapidly.”
Digital Literacy Gaps: From Kindergarten to Grade 12
Ngoriakl said Palau needs a nationwide approach to digital citizenship, beginning in early childhood. “Right now, I believe children as young as kindergarten all the way to 12th grades need digital citizenship literacy, especially in the classroom so that it’s consistent and institutionalized.”
She stressed that AI literacy is now equally essential. “Most kids and even adults need AI literacy as many are using these websites and apps without understanding their risks. To me, AI chatbots are a lot scarier than social media because of their nature as opaque technology.”
She also warned that large platforms integrating their own AI models adds new challenges: “It doesn’t help that large social media parent companies have entered the AI race, meaning they’re embedding their own AI models in their platforms.”
Cybersecurity & Online Safety Risks
When asked about the biggest risks children face online, Ngoriakl distinguished between cybersecurity and online safety. Cybersecurity, she said, is focused on “protecting computers, networks, and data,” while online safety focuses on “teaching them to be smart, safe, and kind online.”
For children, she said online safety education is critical as they face significant risks on platforms and games like Roblox and PUBG. These risks include “exposure to violent and sexual content, exposure to pedophiles and nefarious actors, online grooming, harassment and cyberbullying by strangers and people they know.”
Ngoriakl said gender-targeted content is now a growing concern. “We also see girls and boys being exposed to eating disorder and radicalization content such as red pill. Boys as young as 4th grade are consuming misogynistic content from popular male influencers, while girls are consuming dumbed-down content from trad wife influencers telling them to doll up and find rich husbands, glamorizing the 1950s lifestyle where women had far lesser agency in society and over their own lives.”
How Schools Can Strengthen Online Safety
Ngoriakl highlighted ongoing work with international partners, particularly Australia. “Last year I was part of a small team that looked into this and was able to prepare a unique Palau-culture-informed digital citizenship literacy toolkit for the Ministry of Education,” she said. The toolkit allows “any teacher to integrate online safety lessons in their classes, regardless of their level of tech savviness,” and incorporates qualitative research from local communities. “It has been handed over and is waiting for implementation from what I know.”
Children’s Awareness of Online Dangers
“For the most part yes,” she said when asked whether children understand online risks. “But I think for younger children under age 10, they are less aware and need adult supervision and guidance.”
MOE’s Consideration of a Cybersecurity Course
Ngoriakl expressed caution over a cybersecurity-focused curriculum. “If the course is on cybersecurity, it might be using the wrong tool for the problem,” she said. Instead, she recommends focusing on the digital citizenship toolkit designed specifically for Palau.
She added that cultural relevance must be considered: “We also need to be mindful of what type of content we use to teach our kids because we have a unique culture and a lot of times, western materials can be off or irrelevant for our kids.”
To keep any course relevant, she said, “they need at least a small team of online safety experts who keep up with the fast-evolving nature of technology.” These experts should train teachers quarterly due to the rapid rate of updates by major platforms. She emphasized the importance of AI expertise: “May I also add that it’s important to consult AI safety experts as it’s the rising major risk that I see today.”
Even she finds the pace overwhelming. “I pivoted my career to AI safety a few years ago and even I get overwhelmed with the pace of AI and its evolving capabilities.”
Role of PDCI & National Strategy
Ngoriakl said the Palau Digital Citizenship Initiative has led online safety efforts for years, but capacity remains limited. “The Initiative, while it has done a lot with small fundings here and there, it is limited in that it’s basically me and some volunteers and the task is getting bigger than we can manage.” Still, she noted, “Palau is a bit ahead of the curve compared to our other small island neighbors.”
In workshops, she said Palau’s children show both sensitivity and sophistication. “Kids, generation Alpha, are very unique and way ahead than their parents in terms of technology and online use.” She added that they are “more sensitive and open to issues of mental health and cyber bullying,” and because they are globally connected, “it’s better to teach them to navigate rather than to ban their access altogether because they can easily circumvent such bans with other technologies and other ways.”
A “digitally safe Palau,” she said, would include “digital citizenship and AI literacy being taught starting from kindergarten all the way to 12 grade, teaching kids healthy online habits and to be smarter and kinder users.”
Australia’s Ban on Social Media for Under 16
Australia’s new law banning social media access for children under 16 drew a mixed reaction from Ngoriakl. “I’m a bit mixed with this policy because kids can easily circumvent the ban with VPNs and using other means,” she said. “They’re going to go online and they’ll find a way.”
She warned that delaying exposure also means delaying necessary skills: “Once they are allowed to go online at age 16, they won’t have the necessary skills to navigate risks and harms.”
Ngoriakl said regulating platforms may be more effective than restricting children. “It’s better to regulate them by demanding cleaner algorithms instead of banning users.” She also raised privacy concerns: “When they are forced to officially verify users’ age, they will be asking for private identifiable data… how are they storing it and how are they making sure they’re not using to train AIs?”
She added that some platforms pose greater risks than others. “On one hand, they should ban Roblox and restrict AI chatbots first, and maybe use a different approach to platforms like YouTube and TikTok that offer kids alternative ways to learn and see the world.”
Could Palau Adopt Similar Measures?
Ngoriakl favors a different strategy for Palau. “I’m an advocate of an alternative approach that focuses more on demanding cleaner algorithms, effective removal of harmful materials, parental controls, guided users, and teaching kids and adults to be safe online.” Palau’s small size, she said, enables close collaboration: “We’re small enough to implement solutions with our service provider, PNCC and the other ones, as well as our Bureau of Communications.”