Media use – finding the right balance
“I get a lot about musicians on Instagram,” says 15-year-old Anton. Darja, who is of the same age, considers WhatsApp to be indispensable in times of Corona to keep in touch with friends. Frederik, ten years old, is particularly interested in computer games – typically for younger people: “A lot of unexpected things happen.” The parents of the three work at Stiftung Warentest and find it normal for their children to use electronic media. But they also worry about the right amount.
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Gamble, chat, watch
According to surveys, the majority of mothers and fathers in Germany are concerned about their children’s media use. Many feel overwhelmed by regulating the consumption of smartphones, tablets and game consoles. The devices moved in at home in just a few years and there is little experience and knowledge from long-term studies about using the apps, games and programs – but all the more controversy.
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And learn a lot along the way
But how do parents make their children fit for digital media? The Stiftung Warentest has brought together educators and psychologists and researched specialist information – and from everything derived ten recommendations for parents.
First of all, it means for them: relax. There is a lot of good in the digital world. Children learn for their later life. You also teach yourself word processing, presentation and calculation programs. Creative minds shoot videos, produce podcasts and open up their own channels. They use messenger services to practice maintaining contacts and organizing meetings.
On the other hand, adolescents can also encounter violence in the media, pocket money and data rip-offs, questionable role and body images, fake news and flood of advertising, shit storms, cyberbullying and cybergrooming, harassment by strangers.
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Book: The Social Media Parents Guide
As a parent, how can you accompany your child on social media without controlling? Our guide explains how you can actively support and pay attention to dangers and risks.
The book TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram – the parenting guide has 192 pages and costs 16.90 euros. Delivery is free. Release Date: April 20, 2021.
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Fifa, Minecraft and Call of Duty
The ability to use digital media sensibly is something that adolescents have to learn similarly to how to eat healthily – from their parents. Surveys conducted by the Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate media outlets with Südwestrundfunk show how important this is:
Almost every household with children has a smartphone and internet access. A good one in three six to seven-year-olds used the network in 2018 – an average of 15 minutes a day. Of the ten to eleven year olds, 81 percent were online. The usage time was 51 minutes. More than 90 percent of 12 to 13 year olds owned a smartphone in 2020. Often there are also laptops, games consoles and tablets.
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Parents don’t know what kids are doing online
The problem: a lot of parents don’t know what their children are really doing online. According to the surveys, games are very popular with many elementary school children – with boys the soccer game Fifa and the construction game Minecraft, with girls the simulation game Sims. Older guys are also favorites with shooting games like Fortnite and Call of Duty.
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And WhatsApp greets you every day
Social networks play a major role for young people. 86 percent use WhatsApp every day, followed by Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Girls especially like TikTok. Megatrend among teenagers: Watching series on Netflix and co.
Useful addresses for parents and children
Offers suitable for children. Public broadcasters offer platforms for selected games and videos for primary school children, which makes it particularly clear kika.de. Those Suchmaschinen fragfinn.de and blinde-kuh.de only display child-friendly websites. Recommendations for apps and websites are about klick-tipps.net. Bundles reviews of games, also for young people spieleratgeber-nrw.de.
Consultation. The page schau-hin.info takes a critical look at popular social media such as WhatsApp and TikTok as well as game trends such as Roblox, Brawl Stars and Among Us and informs parents about risks on the Internet. On klicksafe.de provides parents with practical information on introducing children to digital media and securing devices. There, children and young people can also find suggestions, for example for surfing, as well as education about conspiracy theories and bullying. Provides a detailed template for media contracts between parents and children mediennutzungsvertrag.de.
In case of problems. If you have problematic media use, you can find information and contact points in your area computersuchthilfe.info or internetsucht-hilfe.de. The page ins-netz-iegen.de is aimed directly at young people.
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Corona digitizes extremely
The corona pandemic is driving the use of digital media extremely. In 2020 young people were online an average of 258 minutes a day, in 2019 it was 205 minutes. The numbers are likely to continue to rise. In the second lockdown, schools teach online. Tablets and notebooks are suddenly learning material. The devices often stay on longer in their free time than they used to, because alternatives such as sports, music school, meeting friends are limited.
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Allegations against children are unfair
It is unfair to blame children and young people when they are drawn into computer games, social media and videos. The offers are designed to be captivating. Providers can then collect data, place advertisements – and earn money.
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See through digital reward systems
Parents should definitely explain the tricks of the providers to their children, for example the possibility of endless scrolling on YouTube and Instagram.
It is also good when children see through digital reward systems. For example, that huge praise for the smallest successes in games encourages people to stay tuned. And that hearts, likes and flames in social media encourage you to keep looking. Perfidious are free offers that later sell extras or virtual surprise boxes with game accessories at a high price.
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Soon better protection by law
According to a Bitkom survey on the Internet, one in three 10 to 18 year olds has experienced insults, harassment or other negative experiences. The new version of the Youth Protection Act, which is expected to come into force on April 1, is intended to provide better protection against hate speech, cybergrooming, violence and rip-offs. The providers then have to adhere to stricter requirements, label games and social media according to their age or preset them. The goal: to enable children to safely participate in digital media and to further strengthen parents in their upbringing.
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