Bundesminister of Family Affairs, Karin Prien (CDU), following the findings of an expert commission on child safety online, has called for increased support for parents. Prien stated in the Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers that “media education doesn’t start in school but in daily life at home”. She emphasized that children learn by observing how their parents use media and how conversations about online content take place. However, the CDU politician noted that “many parents feel left alone”.
She pointed out that existing resources are often confusing and not available uniformly, despite the rapid advancements in technology. Therefore, she argued, the focus must be on “empowering parents, not lecturing them”.
Prien also identified a need for improvement in media literacy for children and adolescents, arguing that this education is not consistently high quality across the board and sometimes relies on the personal interests of individual teachers. “For an issue of this magnitude, that is not enough” she commented.
The backdrop to the Minister’s statements is the preliminary report from the commission on child safety online, which was convened in the autumn and whose findings were reported by the Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers on Monday.
The experts’ 128-page report paints a nuanced picture, clearly outlining the risks associated with social media use for young people. However, it also acknowledges that digital media can provide vital access points for them. Consequently, smartphones and tablets are integral to the everyday lives of children and teenagers, and the age at which they encounter these devices is decreasing; even very young children often have parental tablets or smartphones in their hands. According to the report, 12- to 13-year-olds average nearly three hours of smartphone use per day, a figure that increases with age, reaching over four and a half hours for those aged 18 to 19.
The report warns that access to the internet, especially social networks, carries significant risks. Young people can be exposed to content that glorifies violence or extremism, experience sexual harassment, stalking, or bullying, or become targets of identity theft. Furthermore, the experts link problematic media use to numerous negative health consequences, ranging from an increased risk of overweight and resulting metabolic disorders to sleep disturbances and psychological impacts.
Despite the risks, the commission also stressed the significant opportunities that online networks offer to adolescents. According to the report, young people belonging to queer or other minority groups benefit disproportionately from digital spaces where they can find a community that might otherwise be inaccessible offline, perhaps due to living in rural areas.
Prien concluded by stating that “digital spaces also offer great opportunities for education, identity development, and societal participation. We must therefore also focus on protected participation”.
