«Parents need to guide their children much more»

Mr Jäncke, in your forthcoming new book «From the Stone Age to the Internet», you paint a rather pessimistic picture of how we deal with the media. Why is that?

My thesis is that we are not made for the modern world. We are flooded with so much information that we suffocate. I know that's not pleasant, but this is how I see it: we are social animals. We have only been around for 150,000 to 200,000 years. Humans have been roaming the world for around 80,000 to 90,000 years. In small groups of perhaps 20 to 50 people. This means that early Homo sapiens probably saw fewer people in his entire life than I do when I take the tram from Stadelhofen station to Zurich-Oerlikon. He only had to communicate with these few people. In the past 13 years, the world has changed more dramatically than ever before in human history.

In what way?

Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007. This triggered a technical and cultural revolution that had never before taken place in such a short space of time. It completely changed the way we communicate, how we watch TV, how we read newspapers, whether we read newspapers at all, whether we read books, how we read books and so on. Then there is the explosion in the Internet world. Over 70 per cent of people worldwide have access to mobile phones and social media. This enormous connectivity has many advantages, no question about it. For example, the way we are now talking here via video conference. At the same time, the amount of bullshit on the internet is increasing exponentially. Every piece of madness finds its way onto the internet. Good information, on the other hand, is only growing linearly.

Why is the amount of this bullshit growing faster than the amount of good information?

Because almost everything finds its way onto the internet more or less unselected. As we can no longer keep track of and select the quantity, inefficient strategies are used for selection. This ultimately leads to us becoming increasingly susceptible to the information that stands out. Emotional, simpler information that stands out. This makes us vulnerable to manipulation.

But everyone has the choice of what they want to do.

What do people do when they are confronted with a lot of information? If you have three alternatives in a shop, you will weigh up price, quality and so on. But what do you do when you have to decide between 20, 50 or 100 offers? We are then overwhelmed. It's like Netflix: if you don't know what you want to watch but are offered 1000 films, you'll zap. You let yourself be led by the stimuli and we will suffocate because we become dependent on the attractiveness of the stimuli that we choose.

What exactly do you mean by this suffocation?

I assume that we are increasingly losing our own control. We are guided by internet information, and other people then take advantage of this. Governments, rulers, business bosses, for example. This is nothing speculative. God knows I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Global manipulation is already happening. Cambridge Analytica, for example, is one of many American opinion-forming companies that do nothing other than spy on us via Google, Facebook and so on. They create personality profiles and use them to influence our decisions and our lives. Our whole attitude to politics is now controlled more by what we see on the internet than by reports from serious journalists. That worries me. And it's happening because we're becoming pleasure-seekers who don't use their brains.

What does this mean for children who grow up in such a society?

You have the biggest problem. Our brain matures until around the age of twenty, and even a little beyond that. And the frontal cortex plays a special role in this maturation process. This frontal cortex is very important for self-discipline and self-control. The fact that the frontal cortex is not yet fully developed is one of the reasons why children are the way they are during puberty. For example, they have difficulties with their attention and controlling their emotions. Children are susceptible to impulses of pleasure. They are therefore also susceptible to addictions. And now, with the internet, they are entering a world where they can have anything they want instantly. My now grown-up sons once asked me as a teenager: «What did you actually do when you were 16 years old?» And when I replied: «Well, going to school, reading, sports and maybe going to the cinema once every four weeks», they found this idea unspeakably boring. Children today can no longer imagine living in a world where they can't have everything immediately.

How can parents help their children to cope in this world full of stimuli?

We have to guide the children much more today. More than we were guided. We have to replace the missing frontal cortex. That is education. Just because children are good with computers doesn't mean they are mature any earlier. As adults, we need to support children so that they can develop in the modern world. Through more values, more guidance and more self-discipline.

What do you mean by «more leadership»?

We have to remember that we are animals and have to learn and perfect certain skills. Self-discipline has to be practised. Nowadays, noise levels in a school class are normal, like we used to have at the railway station. I'm not suggesting that parents and teachers should become authoritarian. But you have to provide a clear framework. We also have to teach the children to keep things to a minimum. They need to learn to concentrate on the essentials. Children seek clarity and structure. And the fact that parents are looking for support in this is also evident from the fact that more strictly managed public schools are hugely popular today.

What kind of rules help the children?

Firstly, it is important that the parenting style is comprehensible. Exceeding the clearly communicated boundaries, for example «You have to be home at time X», must have consequences. This must not be constantly softened. The younger the children, the tighter the parenting framework should be. As they get older, it can then be broadened and extended. Goals for children and young people are just as important. With concrete instructions on how they can achieve them.

And whoever achieves their goal is rewarded?

It is actually more about showing the children that achieving the goal is a reward in itself. The psychologist Heinz Heckhausen has shown that children who achieve goals they have set themselves give themselves the best feeling a child can give themselves, namely pride. This already works with four-year-olds who stack blocks into towers. When we teach children how to achieve the goals they have set themselves, they build up a motivation to achieve.

How do children find their own goals?

By parents making offers. The children should try things out through play. For example, in music lessons, painting lessons or sports.

These are all destinations that are considered culturally valuable.

It helps if we teach children to think about our culture. Not with a raised index finger. It's more elegant. You can also provide children with literature on the side. And of course you have to set an example. If you read yourself, your children will read too. If mum is watching Germany's Next Top Model while her daughter is learning Latin vocabulary, it's going to be difficult. Children internalise their parents' values. Even if they later decide to turn away from them, the point of reference is always their parents' canon of values. We should therefore live in such a way that we are role models for our children. Parents and teachers are the most important momentum for children throughout their lives.

But not the only one. What if the children set themselves goals in an area that doesn't suit their parents?

That can also be a good thing. Anne-Sophie Mutter's parents are also said to have been unenthusiastic at first when their daughter turned to the violin. If the banker's child wants to become a painter, for example, they should be encouraged and allowed to develop. And enjoy the fact that the children show achievement and take pleasure in developing their own goals. However, if the children are attracted to something that is contrary to their parents' values, the parents must of course intervene. But these tend to be extreme examples - for example, when a daughter wants to marry an IS fighter.

In your opinion, there is nothing wrong with the ambitious gamer?

When it comes to games, you have to look out for addiction. If you notice that your children develop a craving (editor's note: a strong desire) when they withdraw from games, then that's dangerous - it's an indicator of addiction. But if my child programmes games or develops their gaming skills in such a way that they earn money with them, why should I ban them? That is success.

What happens to children who always give in to their charms?

They become more and more a creature of lust. This is bad for your whole life. Because success in life will depend on whether you learn to endure delays in gratification. At school, for example, we study in order to write a good exam in three weeks. We study for four years in order to obtain a university degree later on. This ability to work towards a reward in the distance is the reason why humans have evolved so far.

Is it possible to catch up on the development of self-discipline if it did not happen in youth, i.e. until the frontal lobe matured?

Theoretically, the brain can still be changed later and many things can be corrected. But corrections are always difficult. We learn more slowly with age. What's more, we start our careers between 15 and around 25. If we haven't learnt to put up with delays in gratification by then, we won't be able to get to the top.

How can parents practise self-control with their children?

Children and young people must be gradually introduced to self-control. This also applies to computer games. They should learn to only play for a certain amount of time. At the beginning of this process, the parents check that the agreed time is being adhered to - for example, one hour - and then switch off the computer if necessary. If this works, they say «OK, next time you'll switch it off yourself after an hour» - and put a clock next to it. It helps to make agreements and gradually teach the children to stick to them themselves. In this way, external control becomes self-control.

And what if the external control doesn't work because the child refuses to put the game aside?

Then it might help to change the routine. Many parents think it's a good idea for children to relax with games after school before doing their homework. But this goes against the logic of the brain and learning. It's much harder to stop doing something as pleasure-driven as gaming to do something with a long-term goal than the other way round. It would be better if children learnt that completing a tedious task is followed by a relaxing and enjoyable activity. We call this positive reinforcement - it reinforces the behaviour shown before the reward. It is also important that children learn that well-completed school tasks are successful realisations of goals they have set themselves. This promotes the development of achievement motivation. This becomes apparent in everyday school life when you finally understand something or are suddenly the second best in the class.

What do you think of digital detox?

I think it's important that parents show their children that peace and quiet is also interesting. I'm a big fan of digital technology. But you have to learn how to use it. And that includes clearly defined times without media. But of course it's just as important that we look at what children are actually doing on the internet and teach them how to deal with all the information.

What helps?

Especially at the beginning, I think technical aids are good. For example, only using child-friendly search engines. And as hard as it sounds, you should monitor what children do on the internet. I don't think it's good that parents let their 13-year-old girl do everything on Instagram, for example. And not knowing who she is communicating with in chats. Parents need to guide their children. My parents had it much easier than parents today: I practically only read what they gave me. Today, children have access to everything. So we have to talk to each other a lot more about what they're up to on the Internet. Direct communication is becoming increasingly important.

Where are parents supposed to find the time for this enormous task?

Having children is a real challenge. Perhaps more demanding than ever before. Of course, we also have fewer children per family than before. And we can therefore invest more time in raising and caring for them. But we have to take on this responsibility. It's also fun.

Yes, please, say something else positive!

Just imagine how boring life would be without children. Watching young people grow up and empathising with them is exhausting. But that's life. Children give meaning to life.

Doesn't the digital world also have a positive effect? Are we learning new skills?

I can't answer that conclusively yet. We naturally have easier access to knowledge. If we find the right thing. We can enjoy culture on the Internet and communicate with the whole world. Unfortunately, not everyone uses it profitably. They are two sides of the same coin.

Do we learn differently digitally?

The big difference is that in digital learning there is no human sitting directly opposite us. Evolution has moulded us into social beings. This is why real people and teachers are an important catalyst for learning, especially in childhood and adolescence. The younger the children, the more likely they are to learn for the teacher. Our mirror neurones ensure that we imitate - but only real people. It has been proven, for example, that children learn languages much faster from a real teacher than from a teacher who only appears on a screen.

And does he learn even better when he writes by hand?

Absolutely. For example, if you write with your right hand, this is controlled by the left-sided motor cortex. This is in close proximity to the speech areas on the left hemisphere of the brain. This means that communication between these two centres requires short distances and is therefore very efficient. If, on the other hand, you type with both hands on a keyboard, the motor and cognitive signals always have to be transported back and forth between the cerebral hemispheres. This exchange is slow and error-prone. We also type faster than we write. Writing by hand is a deceleration that allows us to remember each word for longer. I can also see how the letters unfold and hear the scratching on the paper. So we link a lot of information together and have more time to commit it to long-term memory than when typing. We memorise information better when we write it by hand.