The Effect of Health Education Using Leaflets on Students' Knowledge Regarding Wise Social Media Use at SMP Negeri 2 Gowa

Abstract

Social media use among adolescents continues to rise, but this is not always accompanied by a solid understanding of safety, ethics, and responsibility in social media use. Health education through leaflets can serve as a preventive measure to enhance students’ knowledge of using social media wisely. This study aims to determine the effect of health education using leaflets on students’ knowledge of responsible social media use at SMP Negeri 2 Gowa. This study employed a quantitative pre-experimental design with a one-group pretest-posttest approach. The study sample consisted of 50 eighth-grade students selected using total sampling. Data were collected using knowledge questionnaires administered before and after the health education session via leaflets. Data analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. The results showed that before the education session, 39 students (78%) had good knowledge, 5 students (10%) had adequate knowledge, and 6 students (12%) had insufficient knowledge. After the education program, the number of students with good knowledge increased to 43 students (86%). The results of the Wilcoxon test showed a significant difference between knowledge levels before and after the education program, with a Z-value of -5.002 and p < 0.001. The conclusion of this study is that health education using leaflets has an impact on increasing students’ knowledge about responsible social media use. Leaflets can be used as a practical educational tool to support health promotion and digital literacy programs in schools.