MELLENDORF
The parents’ evening on September 19th entitled “Children and young people on Whatsapp, Instagram & Tik Tok – what does that have to do with us?”, which was organized by the municipal school social work team, was a complete success. The school social workers Anna Rieder, Julia Krettek, Kira Ansorge and Martin Schröter welcomed around 200 parents, teachers, students and volunteers in the forum of the Mellendorf school center.
In a comprehensible and captivating narrative style with comedic interludes, speaker Moritz Becker from the Smiley association spent two hours explaining to the audience how more than 600 WhatsApp messages can come about before breakfast and what the appeal is of getting as many “ikes” and “flames” as possible for a “post” on Instagram or Snapchat. In order to be able to assess media behavior, parents and other teachers must understand why some children and young people share their lives on Snapchat with others without regard for their own privacy. It was also made clear what effect class chats on WhatsApp can have and how quickly a typo or author’s correction can cause a misunderstanding and how important it is to deal with two blue ticks.
With the help of the two large dolls Max and Lisa, Moritz Becker made it clear that the children and young people try to satisfy their needs for recognition and attention in these ways. But they also use social media to find their place in a group, to orient themselves and to satisfy their curiosity, explained Becker. The children and young people are in the middle of identity development and are carefree.
He did not speak of banning the use of mobile phones and computers in general, but rather of learning together with children and young people how to use them appropriately, developing understanding, setting rules and repeatedly addressing the use in a way that is understandable to children and young people.
The municipal school social work team is also repeatedly confronted with the topic of social media when advising pupils, parents and teachers on Campus W. Lovesickness and arguments, for example, can become even more difficult due to this form of communication and the associated publicity and speed.
Students of Campus W and their families are welcome to contact us by phone at 05130/581-412 or Please contact the municipal school social work department at schulsozialarbeit(at)wedemark.de.
