Saxony wants to make young people fit for digital media

Saxony wants to make children and young people better equipped to deal with digital media. "For young people, being online is now the norm. In addition to the many opportunities that the digital transformation brings with it, the digital space also harbors dangers and risks," explained Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) on Tuesday at the presentation of the 6th Children and Youth Report in the Free State of Saxony. Young people must therefore be empowered to use digital media responsibly and confidently. "It is our joint responsibility to actively support young people on this path."

Köpping presented the report at an external cabinet meeting in Oschatz and then presented it to the public. It is entitled "Digital is just normal" and mainly deals with children and young people growing up in digital environments and the resulting challenges for child and youth welfare services. Almost 1,200 young people between the ages of 10 and 21 were surveyed for the analysis. 94% of them own a smartphone and almost all of them use it every day, according to the survey.

"Young people in Saxony use the internet most frequently to communicate via messenger services and to stream videos, films, series, music or podcasts. Social networks also play a major role in the spectrum of their online activities," it said. According to the report, 34% of respondents often encounter offensive comments, 24% report fake news and hate messages and 23% are confronted with extreme political views online. 20% stated that they had already been bullied or insulted online. Around a third of them suffer from school anxiety as a result, and only around 22% have sought help for this.

A further finding of the survey was that only 36% agreed with the statement that schools prepare students adequately for everyday digital life. Respondents would like to see better media education in schools, more information on how to use digital media and stronger protection for children and young people in the media. According to Köpping, prevention must be more effective in child and youth welfare and media education must be considered a cross-cutting issue. Among other things, the Minister announced that the State Youth Welfare Office would be offering more advanced training courses.