How dangerous is the use of social media for children and young people? Christian Montag from Ulm University has been researching this question for a long time. His findings are disturbing. In the interview he warns children and parents.
Tiktok, Instagram and Snapchat are part of young people’s everyday lives today. However, they demand that children and young people under the age of 13 should not have their own social media accounts. Why are you so strict?
Christian Montag: The companies behind Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok want us to spend as much time as possible on social media. The platforms shout every free second: Look, I have something interesting here! On the other hand, young people should develop mentally, physically and motorically. Children and young people lack this time when they are constantly consuming social media. Take a look at the schoolyards. Where there are smartphone bans, we know from scientific work that students’ grades can improve. The children play more with each other, they exercise more and there is less cyberbullying. We also know that young social media users in particular are more often dissatisfied with their bodies and that eating disorders can be related to this.
What conclusions should we draw from this?
It would therefore make sense if users had to have their age verified. But this requires control. This would be possible with ID and further consent from the parents. In addition, we urgently need more research to see what age entry really makes sense.
One could reply: A cell phone ban is hardly helpful when children and young people should be learning media skills.
The students learn how to use the cell phone and the apps in five minutes. That is not the media literacy we need. We need to address other questions: How does social media work on a meta level. How do I recognize fake news? What is a reputable source? And how does artificial intelligence work? All of these questions belong in school lessons. And for this we need a nationwide digitalization canon.
Many schools are already using tablets and other digital equipment.
I see the problem as being that digitalization is being rolled out blindly. For example, it has not yet been proven that children can learn better with tablets. On the contrary: several studies show that many reading skills are better learned on paper. Some countries that were pioneers of digitalization in schools are now the first countries to remove tablets from classrooms. For example in Scandinavia.
Do you see that a rethink is also taking place in Germany?
I have already spoken about this in the family committee in the Bundestag and I also often visit schools. That’s why I’m convinced that something is changing. Smartphone bans are no longer seen as nonsense. And at the same time it becomes clear: we have digital societies. We have to give our children the relevant background knowledge. There are now also many initiatives in which parents are campaigning for lessons to be smartphone-free.
Which social media channels do you consider to be particularly dangerous?
I’m careful with generalizations. But it seems that the short video platform TikTok particularly appeals to young people, similar to Instagram. These are very visual platforms that don’t require a long attention span. And we know that young people are more likely to have problems regulating themselves because brain maturation is not yet complete.
They warn that users can become addicted to the platforms.
Yes. The focus of research is still on computer game addiction (gaming disorder). However, we are currently investigating to what extent these addiction criteria of gaming disorder can also be transferred to social media. When you have an addiction, everything revolves around social media. We continue to imagine someone who is glued to social media until late at night and therefore sleeps through the exam the next morning – without learning anything from it. Just like loss of control, these would be criteria that usually have to be observed for twelve months before one can speak of addictive use.
So far, however, there is still too little study available to recognize the excessive use of social media as an addiction in its own right. Nevertheless, there are young people who suffer from their excessive use. And of course parents also observe that in some cases their offspring spend too much time there. That’s why I recommend: We have to take back the structures that the platforms have destroyed for us.
What do you mean?
For example, by changing the app settings. For example, turn off push notifications or read confirmations on WhatsApp. You should try to reduce constant availability – for example by considering whether some apps even need to be on your smartphone. Then I advocate wearing a watch. It might sound strange, but I don’t always look at my cell phone when I actually just want to know the time.
How can parents cope if they feel like their children are spending too much time on social media?
Parents, like teachers, should be good role models and not spend all the time on their cell phones. I recommend drawing up media contracts. Parents and children sit together at the table and express their wishes to each other.
Christian Montag
First of all: Parents, like teachers, should be a good role model and not spend all the time on their cell phones. I recommend drawing up media contracts. Parents and children sit together at the table and express their wishes to each other. Then both sides must ensure that what was negotiated is adhered to. The second: Parents need to be interested in this platform in order to understand it and also understand their children. In extreme cases, for example if school performance suffers due to media consumption or your children no longer exercise enough, you may also need help from professionals such as psychotherapists.
It would be easy to blame only the younger generation. Anyone who uses the platforms has themselves to blame…
We are always quick to talk about what the individual can do and how responsibility is shifted to the individual. But we must not forget: we are dealing with a very powerful industry. The meta platforms alone have a total of more than three billion users. Institutions like the European Commission must take appropriate action. And I think we have to relieve the burden on families and schools by getting clear rules from above. The EU’s Digital Service Act is a good first step. Among other things, it regulates that the fundamental rights of users are better protected online. The first proceedings against the industry are already underway, and the wind is now blowing harsher.
At the same time, almost all relevant institutions and officials are still represented on social media. For example, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who diligently uploads videos to TikTok. Data protection officers, on the other hand, have been calling for people to leave the platforms for years.
I don’t know what the reason is for Olaf Scholz to be on TikTok. But I can imagine it. The AfD is the only party that has long been able to attract young people in particular. The other parties now see the need to appear there too. Even if they are very late.
In my opinion, we generally have to ask the question whether social media really belongs in the hands of private companies. Or whether they shouldn’t be a public good. Because as long as the industry has an interest in making money by extending user hours, we will continue to see the current dark sides of social media.
Social media set up by the state, isn’t that more like wishful thinking?
Not quite. I’m not saying that Facebook and Co. should be abolished. But I think there needs to be alternatives that take place on the smartphone. According to media reports, the Second German Television (ZDF), for example, is working on a research project for a public Twitter alternative. So these are no longer just ideas.
