Ha Noi, 3 July 2026 - A new study released today highlights the growing need to strengthen digital safety for young people in Viet Nam, with 90.7 per cent of surveyed young people reporting physical symptoms linked to intensive digital use. Women and girls face heightened risks of online sexual harassment, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and misuse of deepfake technology. In response, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund in Viet Nam, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Viet Nam Youth Union and the National Cybersecurity Association, introduced new digital safety resources. These aim to equip young people with knowledge and practical tools to navigate the digital space safely and are currently accessed by 500 youth representatives, with a target of reaching 2 million youth total by the end of this year. 

The resources were presented at the closing and knowledge-sharing event of the project “Securing the Digital Space for Vietnamese Youth”, held today in Hanoi.  The event brought together around 150 participants from United Nations agencies, central government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, and youth representatives to share the project’s results and discuss solutions to help young people participate safely in the digital space.

Digital transformation is bringing major opportunities for young people while also giving rise to new risks that warrant attention. In Viet Nam, nearly 80 per cent of the population now uses the internet, and young people are increasingly accessing smartphones and digital devices. In this context, the project “Securing the Digital Space for Vietnamese Youth” - funded by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security - was developed to understand better the current and future threats facing young people, to improve policymaking by placing youth digital security at the center at both national and local levels, and to raise awareness so that young people are equipped with the practical knowledge and tools to reduce these risks.

Emphasising the importance of investing in young people’s digital knowledge and resilience, Ms Pauline Tamesis, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, said: “Building a digital future that is inclusive, safe, and empowering requires not only technological progress, but also investments in people’s knowledge and resilience.”

The project applies a human security approach, under which digital safety is understood not only as a technical matter, but also as a question of human security, health, gender equality and social inclusion. This approach works towards youth-centred and integrated policy solutions, helping to strengthen long-term social sustainability for future generations.

As part of the project, the same study examined the digital and health risks that young people in Viet Nam face when using technology,  establishing the first integrated evidence base for applying a human security approach to youth digital security in the national context. The study shows that young people’s lives are increasingly intertwined with the digital environment: 99.2 per cent of students surveyed own a smartphone and spend an average of five to eight hours a day in front of a screen, reporting physical symptoms associated with intensive digital use, such as eye strain and headaches, as well as impacts on mental well-being.

The study involved 900 young people aged 18-24 in Hanoi and Thanh Hoa, including young people from vulnerable groups. Of these, 846 participated in the surveys, while 54 joined focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. It also found that, rooted in gender discrimination, various digital risks explicitly target victims based on their gender, leaving women and girls as the primary targets of sexual harassment, sextortion, and appearance-based attacks, which increasingly feature Deepfake technology to superimpose faces onto explicit content for defamation or extortion. Furthermore, digital vulnerabilities have triggered a severe health crisis. With 90.7% of youth experiencing physical symptoms (eye strain, headaches) alongside severe mental health impacts (depression, school dropout, suicidal ideation), digital safety must be integrated into national health agendas. 

More interestingly, the study also highlights the gender gaps in digital safety skills: male students were more likely than female students to enable two-factor authentication (71 per cent compared with 58 per cent), customise privacy settings (62 per cent compared with 50 per cent) and identify threats such as scam calls. These findings emphasise the need to equip young people, especially women and girls, with practical knowledge, tools, and supportive systems to respond to online risks, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

Building on these findings, the project developed practical resources for young people and stakeholders. The Youth Digital Awareness Toolkit includes four modules: awareness and skills for the safe use of cyberspace; prevention of cyberbullying and technology-facilitated gender-based violence; mental health care for young people; and understanding legal regulations and reporting violations in cyberspace. 

Mr Nguyen Thien Tu, Director of the Viet Nam Youth and Children Support Centre, noted that the Toolkit is “not only a guidance resource, but also an important foundation for building a safe, respectful and responsible digital culture among young people in Viet Nam.”

To help policymakers, businesses and institutions translate digital safety commitments into action, UNDP, the National Cybersecurity Association and the Chongluadao.vn (anti-scam) platform jointly developed the Youth Digital Security Handbook. Complementing the youth-focused resources, the handbook serves as a practical and accessible reference featuring five Massive Open Online Course modules covering cyber risk identification, data protection, online scam prevention, incident response and organisational cybersecurity strategies. The handbook will be made publicly available on the National Cybersecurity Association’s website, helping strengthen institutional capacity to create safer digital environments for young people.

“Ensuring a safe digital space for young people is not the responsibility of any single agency, organisation or business. It is a shared responsibility of the whole society”, said Mr Vu Duy Hien, Deputy Secretary General and Chief of Office of the National Cybersecurity Association.

Promoting safety, dignity, equality and opportunity for young people in the digital space is essential to the United Nations’ mission. The United Nations in Viet Nam will continue to work with national partners to strengthen policies, build capacity and scale up initiatives that help protect young people from digital risks. Cross-sector collaboration among government, youth organisations, civil society, the technology sector and international partners is essential to placing safety, well-being, dignity, equality and opportunity for young people at the heart of digital transformation - working towards a safe digital future for every young person.

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For media inquiries:
Mr Hoang Quan, UNFPA Communications Analyst
Tel: +84 915 400100
Email: qhoang@unfpa.org