Demand from Politics: Social Media from Sixteen
Quelle: KIVVON IM BLICK (Glomex)
“Children stare at smartphones and a storm rages within them. We are losing our mental integrity, the joy of discovery, and self-awareness – a silent epidemic,” describes Mario Voigt, Prime Minister of the Free State of Thuringia, in an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Cyberbullying and cybergrooming threaten younger people online. Nationwide, teenagers are online too much, moving little in nature, leading to restlessness, sleep problems, and psychological stress. “We don't need a Wi-Fi childhood, but a real childhood outdoors: playground, friends, failures, and successes instead of likes,” says Voigt. His five rules as a “digital protection program” for children: No smartphone before 14, no social media before 16, smartphone-free schools, new, real role models, and a mindful society. Voigt also supports the demands of newspaper publisher Julia Becker, who has called for access to social networks to be restricted to those over 16 to protect children and teenagers. According to Voigt, politics can set guardrails: no TikTok before 16, no mobile phones in primary schools, meaningful digital courses, education. Thuringia is focusing on children's media courses and “Safe talk, real talk” programs in schools to protect children. The goal: to be able to use digital spaces without fear. Because the real decision lies in the family, school, and society, as Voigt explains.