The Aspen Institute Inc.
10/16/2024 | News release | Archived content
Teen Perspectives on Cybersecurity
At last month's Aspen Cyber Summit, we announced the grand prize winner and eight runners-up of our "Cybersecurity in Daily Life" poster competition, all teens ages 14-17. Our winners were selected from among the top 50 qualifying entries, hailing from 18 states across the US - from California to New York (and Nebraska!).
These posters are not only feats of creativity and artistic talent, but they also show off teens' knowledge and insights on cybersecurity in novel ways. Cybersecurity imagery often falls short when depicting this complex topic, defaulting to shadowy hackers in hoodies or Matrix-esque screens of 1s and 0s.
Contrast those images with the artwork by runners-up Maya D. and Charlize S., for example, which merge teen cultural touch points on sports and gaming (respectively) with cybersecurity. Or, take the posters by Solika M. and Daliya V. - both are vibrant, dynamic depictions of online safety that pull us out of the dimly lit "hacker's room."
We hope that these teens' posters can help press the refresh button on cyber visuals, showing us that cybersecurity is much more than binary code - it's a part of our everyday lives.
Download copies below to post on social media or hang up in your classroom, library, office, or home. When you post, make sure to use the hashtag #AspenCyberPosters.
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Aspen Digital encourages anyone and everyone to print or share these images under the Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Using digital tools, colored pencils, watercolors, pens, and paint, young artists illustrated the dangers of poor cybersecurity, showcased what a secure digital world looks like, and advocated for tangible steps to improve our online safety.
Now, during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we're spotlighting the shared concerns, interests, and advice on cybersecurity of young people from across the country. We reviewed our top poster competition submissions and identified a few key themes.
When it comes to the cybersecurity priorities of these teen artists:
32% focus on creating strong passwords
22% alert us to phishing attemptsand suspicious links
16% call attention to the importance of secure social media practices
14% warn us about identity theft
10% promote multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Keep reading to dig deeper into these takeaways and learn more about how to protect yourself online!