“klicksafe fragt…”, a new podcast by the German Awareness Centre, klicksafe

klicksafe, the awareness-raising node of the German Safer Internet Centre, presents the new podcast series “klicksafe fragt…” (klicksafe asks…). In it, complex topics relating to the online safety of children and young people are discussed in detail. Are social networks a good idea for children and youth? Is the gaming community harmful? What approach should parents and carers take on the topic of sexting? In the podcasts, klicksafe invites experts and professionals to discuss these and other key questions.

Date 2021-12-15 Author German Safer Internet Centre Section hotlines Topic cyberbullying, excessive use, gaming, media literacy/education, online reputation, potentially harmful content, sexting Audience media specialist, organisations and industry, parents and carers, teachers, educators and professionals

Five episodes have been published to date (all in German):

Episode 1: Social media platforms for children – are they a good idea?
At the beginning of 2021, the Facebook group announced that they were developing a version of Instagram for under 13-year-olds. The first complaints started coming in soon after that. In this episode of the podcast, together with educationalist Prof. Dr Norbert Neuß, klicksafe asks whether social media platforms can be suitable for children and young people.

Episode 2: Is the gaming community toxic?
Through gaming, millions of people come into contact with each other online every day. Unfortunately, these interactions are not always friendly and considerate. In this episode of the podcast, klicksafe asks psychologist Dr Benjamin Strobel about the reasons behind this issue and discusses possible solutions.

Episode 3: Is “dark social” a threat to our democracy?
"Dark social media" is a term that has been circulating in reports about disinformation and conspiracy narratives. It generally refers to content that does not contain any digital referral information about the source. klicksafe decided to explore the phenomenon and what impact it has on the information behaviour of children and young people. In this episode, Leonie Wunderlich from the Leibniz Institute for Media Research (Hans-Bredow-Institut) helps to answer this question based on a recent study in which she examined the news competencies of adolescents and young adults in the digital media world.

Episode 4: How can we increase our digital well-being?
Many people perceive the increasing digitalisation as both a curse and a blessing. On the one hand, being able to easily connect with friends and family is highly appreciated. On the other hand, constant accessibility and distraction can trigger stress. How can we focus on the positive aspects and avoid the side effects? In this episode of the podcast, klicksafe discusses strategies on how to increase our digital well-being, together with communication scientist Dr Ruth Wendt. A particular focus is on how children and young people can learn to deal with digital media in a healthy way.

Episode 5: Are mobile games manipulating young people?
The market for mobile game apps is currently huge - more than 2.2 billion euros were generated through in-app purchases in Germany in 2020 alone. A common method is to initially offer games for devices such as mobile phones and tablets for free (referred to as Free2Play) and then gradually persuade players to make in-app purchases. A variety of manipulative strategies, so-called "dark patterns", are used. What are the risks for children and young people? After all, they make up a large portion of the players of mobile games. In this episode of the podcast, klicksafe quizzes Judith Eckart and Anja Schneider from the German hotline Jugendschutz about the results of their research "Dark patterns - the problem of manipulative game designs in Free2Play apps".
 
klicksafe podcast logo

More information about the podcast series and all episodes can be found at www.klicksafe.de/podcast.

Find out more about the work of the German Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services, or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe. 

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