Modeling adolescent online risk-taking through digital literacy and parental mediation in Indonesia

Indonesia’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem poses significant challenges for adolescent online safety, particularly within contexts where family guidance may intersect with community-based norms and governance structures. Although digital literacy and parental mediation have each been linked to adolescents’ online risk outcomes, their combined associations remain underexplored in non-Western settings. This study examined the associations among adolescents’ digital literacy, parental mediation strategies, and online risk-taking behaviour across three Indonesian urban contexts (Bali, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta). Using cross-sectional survey data from 894 adolescents aged 13–18 years and structural equation modelling, we tested direct and indirect pathways linking digital literacy to online risk-taking through enabling and restrictive parental mediation. Digital literacy was assessed across operational, informational, communication, and safety competencies, while online risk-taking followed the 4Cs framework. Results indicated that higher digital literacy was associated with lower online risk-taking both directly and indirectly through enabling (discussion-based) parental mediation, whereas restrictive mediation showed minimal association with risk outcomes. Multi-group analyses further suggested site-level variation in pathway strengths across locations, highlighting the potential role of contextual influences on digital parenting processes. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening adolescent digital literacy alongside parent-focused enabling mediation strategies, while recognising that locally responsive approaches may be needed to support adolescent online safety across diverse Indonesian settings.