100 questions - 100 answers on the subject of media

At what age should my child get their own mobile phone? How much media time is too much? When is a teenager addicted to gambling? This dossier provides answers to these and 97 other questions.

Pictures: Joël Hunn

Questions and realisation: Thomas Feibel

Media in everyday family life

14 experts provide 100 concrete answers to the most burning questions about stress-free media use.

Media education was easier 30 or 40 years ago. Back then, television, for example, took children home at fixed times because they didn't want to miss their favourite series, and the big TV shows on Saturday evenings brought the whole family together on the sofa with crisps.

Fixed programme times are long gone. Today, each family member often watches their own personal programme on their own device. And when the family does get together in front of the TV, everyone has their mobile phones with them, surfing on the side or texting with friends.

Smartphones, the internet, social media and streaming services have not only changed the way we use media today, but also the way we educate our children. The huge variety of new offerings that captivate children and young people is constantly presenting us with new challenges. Many educators understandably find it difficult to maintain an overview when topics such as data protection, cyberbullying, nude photos or fake news suddenly become part of everyday parenting.

In order to provide children and young people with a good, healthy and sustainable media education, we need more basic knowledge. The JAMES study, which is published every two years, is a reliable guide. «When parents, teachers and education policy makers deal with children's everyday media lives,» explains the co-project manager of the JAMES study, Daniel Süss, «they should not only consult their personal experience or scandalising media reports, but also have a sound basis for the everyday media lives of children and young people. For parents, comparing their child with other children in their age group can also be very helpful and reassuring.»

For a medical perspective, media educator Stefan Aufenanger recommends the website of the American Paediatricians of the APA (www.apa.org), because it shows very constructive recommendations on media use and backs them up with scientific studies.

The Swiss parents' magazine Fritz+Fränzi aims to be a beacon for mums and dads and provides helpful answers to 100 important parenting questions on dealing with media in everyday family life in this media dossier. The 14 experts interviewed - including educationalists, psychologists, lawyers and game developers - provide easy-to-understand and practical assessments, parenting tips and recommendations for action. The book is organised in such a way that you can choose your own focus when reading, depending on your interests.

Let's not forget: media is a good thing. Children and young people use it for guidance and need adults to protect, support and accompany them on this journey.

These are the experts

Stefan Aufenanger is a research professor for media education at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. He gives lectures and training courses and writes articles and essays.

Ulla Autenrieth is head of research and professor at the Institute for Multimedia Production at the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden. Her research interests include visual communication in networked environments, the use of online media and media literacy.

Christine Bär is a research assistant specialising in teaching at the Department of General Educational Sciences at Justus Liebig University Giessen. She is the winner of the Augsburg Science Prize for Intercultural Studies.

Daniel Betschart is responsible for digital media for children and young people at the Pro Juventute Foundation. As a former youth worker, he knows what occupies young people, and his two boys mean that digital media and screen time are increasingly becoming a focus of everyday family life.

Heike Ehrlicher is a communications scientist and has been Director of the Swiss Library Association Bibliosuisse since December 2021. Reading and media literacy are topics that the association addresses in a variety of ways, for example with the Reading Promotion Conference, which Bibliosuisse organises on behalf of the Federal Office of Culture.

Thomas Feibel is one of the leading journalists on the subject of children and new media. The media expert runs the Office for Children's Media in Berlin, gives readings and lectures, and organises workshops and seminars. He writes educational guides for adults as well as books for children and young people on digital topics.

Felix Hüppi is director of the Kornhaus libraries. He studied information science in Chur, where he now works as a part-time lecturer.

Armin Gottlieb Kunz is a psychologist specialising in child and adolescent psychology and psychotherapy in Zurich. Parents who are concerned about their children's media consumption often come to his practice.

Dominik Petko is Professor of General Didactics and Media Didactics at the Institute of Educational Science at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on the effects and possibilities of digitalisation in schools.

Philomena Schwab is an award-winning game designer and co-founder of the game studio «Stray Fawn».

Martin Steiger is a lawyer from Zurich. His law firm Steiger Legal specialises in law in the digital space. Steiger supports private individuals, organisations and companies and is a spokesperson for the Digital Society in Switzerland.

Daniel Süss is Professor of Media Psychology at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW and Professor of Communication Science at the University of Zurich. He is co-project leader of the JAMES study.

Friederike Tilemann is an educationalist and media educator. She works as a lecturer at the Zurich University of Teacher Education and is also involved in the datenschutzlernen.ch project.

Christine Tresch studied German, English and philosophy and worked as a cultural and literary editor for print media and SRF radio. She has been working at the Swiss Institute for Children's and Youth Media SIKJM since 2003, currently in the areas of literary promotion, teaching and cultural work.

Glossary

Account User account
Android operating system from Google
Augmented reality (AR) English for «augmented reality». This is where reality and the digital world merge. One prominent example is «Pokémon Go». With the help of a smartphone, you can find Pokémon monsters in the wild, but they can only be seen on the screen.
Bodypositivity movement against discriminatory beauty ideals
Body shaming Disparaging remarks about appearance
Chat Chat, conversation; written exchange in the digital world
Coding English for programming
Content English for content
Cyberbullying Bullying in the digital world
Dick-Pic Unsolicited penis photos sent and received
First-person shooter Shooting game from the first-person perspective, usually for ages 18 and up
Fortnite: Free survival game, similar gameplay to dodgeball
Games Maker software for developing games. There is also a free version available.
Guild An association of players
Hardcore cut Hard cut
Instagram Powerful social medium
Competitive Competitive
Let's play videos in which a «Let's Player» plays and comments on a game
Maker Space A space to carry out physical and digital experiments, for example, often offered by public libraries
Minecraft Very popular and creative design game with blocks
Podcast: Audio contribution that can be accessed via the Internet regardless of time and place and is not dissimilar to a radio programme
Scratch Simple but sophisticated software for programming yourself
Snapchat social media app for younger children
Social media Social networks on the Internet, such as Facebook or Instagram
Voice assistant A device that responds to a call through voice recognition. Alexa is the best-known voice assistant.
Listen to or watchstreaming music and films over the Internet
Tiktok Social medium with short video clips
Trailer Short promotional video clip for films and games
Victim blaming English for «blaming the victim»
Virtual reality Virtual reality, i.e. a digital reality that is generated by a computer and appears real
World of Warcraft Very popular online game
Youtube Largest online video platform from Google
Youtube-Family Families who present themselves and their children on the Internet