Digital well-being for Safer Internet Day 2023 in Germany

Klicksafe event in Mainz: #OnlineAtTheLimit?

In cooperation with the Media Authority Rhineland-Palatinate, klicksafe organised a Safer Internet Day event at the ZDF headquarters in Mainz on February 7. ZDF (“Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen”) is Germany’s second national public television broadcaster and is run as an independent non-profit corporation under the authority of the Länder, the sixteen states that constitute the Federal Republic of Germany.

The title of the event was "Are we #OnlineAtTheLimit? - How we can recognise addictions and strengthen digital well-being". Around 60 students from three schools in Mainz firstly took part in a digital detox workshop. The subsequent panel discussion addressed the question of whether we are #OnlineAtTheLimit. The young people participated by taking part in interactive surveys via smartphone, asking intriguing questions and making lively contributions to the discussion.

Amongst other experts, Dr. Klaus Wölfling (Outpatient Clinic for Gambling Addiction of the Psychosomatic Clinic of the University Medical School Mainz) was part of the panel, as well as the popular content creator, model and anti-bullying ambassador Lijana Kaggwa. 

Group photo of the students with State Secretary Heike Raab and the Director of the Media Authority Rhineland-Palatinate, Dr. Marc Jan Eumann. © klicksafe | Studio Kauffelt Fotografie

As an introduction to the workshops, the method "Dangerous distraction - eyes open in traffic" from the Digital Detox Box was carried out. © klicksafe | Studio Kauffelt Fotografie

There was a lively exchange during the panel discussion. Pictured (from left to right): head of klicksafe Deborah Woldemichael, influencer Lijana Kaggwa and logo! presenter Linda Joe Fuhrich. © klicksafe | Studio Kauffelt Fotografie

Landing page for SID 2023

As in the year before, a multimedia landing page was created to show the wide range of activities and offers around SID as well as to bring together different target groups in one central place.

To raise awareness and strengthen digital resilience, klicksafe provided numerous materials and created space for addressing the focus topic “OnlineAtTheLimit - your net. your life. your limits.” from different perspectives. Among others, the following resources can be found:

• Digital Detox Box: 16 exercises focusing on “digital detox” for the classroom or extracurricular youth work.
• Forsa survey: representative survey among 500 German parents and their children between the ages of 10 and 17.
• Informational videos #OnlineAmLimit: two videos with tips for a better digital balance.
• Flyer for parents “Between apps and dinner”: 10 tips for parents for a better digital balance.
• Awareness-raising spots #OnlineAmLimit: four new spots that aim to highlight everyday media-usage-situations.
• YouthTalk video #OnlineAmLimit: members of klicksafe’s Youth Panel talk about their experiences concerning digital balance.

The resources also include a generator for SID-branded profile pictures and a social media participation campaign focusing on everyday life situations where users found themselves wanting to do something specific and then getting stuck on, for example, social media or online gaming. Users posted their “#expectation vs. #reality” moments using a special template.

To make all forms of engagement visible for this year's Safer Internet Day, there was once again a SID social wall where all posts are archived. From pictures of individual events to tips on media use to contributions to our social media participation campaign – there’s a lot to discover.

Hundreds of events throughout Germany

315 events and actions throughout Germany were registered for Safer Internet Day 2023. Most of them took place on 7 February, and included varied resources such as online events, workshops at schools and short film events. Klicksafe has compiled an overview of all events in Germany. 

Nationwide media coverage

Many television shows, radio stations, newspapers, and websites picked up on Safer Internet Day 2023. The coverage often focused on the national theme #OnlineAtTheLimit, but also about many other aspects around the topic of safety on the internet.

The German Safer Internet Centre would like to thank everyone who took part in Safer Internet Day 2023, making the internet better for everyone – together!

Find out more about Safer Internet Day in Germany. Alternatively, find more information about the work of the German Safer Internet Centre, including their awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for other Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.