Youth Media Protection
Youth media protection not only plays an important role in the handling of films or computer games – the Internet is also more and more often used as a platform for the dissemination of criminal, illegal and youth-endangering content.
For the Internet in Germany, the Interstate Treaty on the protection of minors (JMStV), which came into effect in April 2003, regulates the assessment and combatting of developmentally damaging media content for the protection of children and youth.
The legal basis of the work is explained on the website of the consortium of state media authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany (ALM) (https://www.die-medienanstalten.de/en/about-the-media-authorities) and on the website of FSM (http://www.fsm.de/en/legal-foundations and http://www.fsm.de/en/who-who).
In principle, the following groups of risks can be differentiated:
Here, children and young people are confronted with content which can affect or even endanger their development at the respective age. They can also come across absolutely impermissible content, which can, for example, result in criminal prosecution. As protection against risks of confrontation, the installation of a parental control program is advised. Further information can be found here: http://www.fsm.de/en/parental-control
These are the risks which arise as a result of public or private communication with third parties – generally strangers. In addition to insults, cyber bullying, etc., this can also include so-called cyber grooming – online-based sexual harassment. For this reason, younger children should make use of child-appropriate and moderated platforms. Older children and young people should ensure appropriate privacy settings and sensible handling of personal data when using the communication possibilities in the Internet.
The bandwidth of self-destructive and auto-aggressive behavior of children, and to an even greater extent young people, is large. It ranges from drug and alcohol abuse through to eating disorders, self-harm (e.g. so-called “cutting”), and suicide threats, through to actually committing suicide. Social networks, forums and blogs are used to exchange tips on carrying out or hiding self-destructive behavior. They are not the cause, but rather a means of presentation and communication. The content is problematic because it can increase the extent of self-destructive behavior and convey a sense of normality (“others do it too”). In addition, they can inspire other, previously not self-destructive, people to behave in a similar way. If content of this nature is found, it should be reported to www.internet-beschwerdestelle.de/en. If, as parents, you become aware that your child is using such content, you should seek professional support, for example through online helplines like www.nummer-gegen-kummer.de, or a look for a counselling center in your area. Information who to contact in your country can be found here: https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/web/portal/practice/helplines.