<![CDATA[HIV/AIDS remains a serious public health problem in Maluku Province, including Tual City, where cases have also been found among adolescents and students. Digital technology has become the main source of health information for adolescents, yet its relationship with students’ knowledge and attitude toward HIV/AIDS prevention has rarely been examined. This study aimed to determine the relationship between digital technology use as a media for information access and sex with students’ level of knowledge and attitude regarding HIV/AIDS prevention at SMAN 5 Tual. This was a quantitative correlational-analytic study with a cross-sectional approach. The population comprised all 170 eleventh-grade students, and 120 respondents were selected through proportional cluster random sampling. Data were collected in May 2026 using validated and reliable questionnaires and analyzed univariately and bivariately using the Chi-Square test and Fisher’s Exact Test. Almost all respondents were active digital technology users (96.7%), most had a poor level of knowledge (80.0%), and most held a supportive attitude toward HIV/AIDS prevention (72.5%). There was no significant relationship between digital technology use and level of knowledge (p=1.000) or attitude (p=1.000), nor between sex and level of knowledge (p=0.297). Conversely, a significant relationship was found between sex and attitude (p=0.001), with female students (82.9%) being more supportive than male students (54.5%). High digital technology use does not automatically increase knowledge or shape supportive attitudes; therefore, structured, multi-source, and gender-responsive health education programs are needed for adolescents in secondary schools.]]>
