Can a child grow up today without digital media?

Can a child grow up today without digital media?

As long as children are very young, this is possible. However, parents cannot protect them from this for long. As soon as children enter social institutions such as daycare centres or schools, they are inevitably confronted with media. For example, when friends tell stories from their streaming series.
Stefan Aufenanger

For me, media literacy is the ability to deal with media in a reflective, critical and creative way and with an appreciative view of ourselves and others.

Friederike Tilemann

The JAMES study has been investigating the media usage behaviour of children and young people for ten years. Which fears from the early days have materialised and which were unfounded?

The more children and young people use media independently, the more they are confronted with violence, bullying and pornography or sexual harassment. With the smartphone, a child or young person's media use is increasingly beyond their parents' control and therefore entails more risky behaviour.

However, the fear that children will only be glued to their digital devices or play games and be influenced by media images has not materialised. Children and young people still prefer to meet their friends, be outdoors, do things and play sport. Many of these areas have remained very constant over the past ten years.
Daniel Süss

What do you understand by media literacy?

For me, media literacy is the ability to deal with media in a reflective, critical and creative way and with an appreciative view of ourselves and others. It is also about being able to express yourself creatively with the help of media and to participate in social processes using media. This requires knowledge and the ability to reflect in order to understand media, their products and media systems, so that competent perception is possible and I can use the media in a self-determined way.
Friederike Tilemann

How do you define accompanying competence?

Supporting your child in their media consumption means talking to them about it, taking an interest in what they are doing, taking a closer look, allowing them to express their own concerns and asking questions. And as soon as parents realise that they lack knowledge in a certain area, they should inform themselves about it.
Daniel Betschart

Are children more familiar with digital technology than adults?

It is a common misconception that children know their way around better simply because they can click well and quickly. Although they often have good user skills with certain devices and programmes, they usually don't look behind the scenes enough, they can't assess dangers well enough and they only know a relatively limited range of ways in which digital media could be used differently and perhaps more sensibly. Ultimately, adults can learn from children and children can learn from adults.
Dominik Petko

Have children become even more consumers through streaming?

No, because social media has also turned them into producers on a large scale. The potential to engage creatively with media and make things themselves has increased overall. On the other hand, the consumption of ready-made products is still an important, but not a dominant element in everyday media life.
Daniel Süss