News Overview

Images of war, propaganda and disinformation are currently flooding the social media platform TikTok, which is popular with children and young people. The risk is very high that young users will be confronted with images of war, even if they are not looking for them. The algorithm suggests videos that are currently trending and #Ukraine is at the top of the list. FLIMMO, the parents' guide for TV, streaming and YouTube, has dedicated an article to this problem.

The Tagesspiegel Background recently published a detailed portrait of our coordinator, Birgit Kimmel. We are very pleased to be able to publish the text here with the kind permission of the Tagesspiegel.

The war against Ukraine continues to dominate the news. Increasingly, the focus is also on references to war crimes. Now the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media reports that there are increasing complaints about inappropriately explicit depictions of war events. At klicksafe, parents and teachers can find tips on how to protect children from inappropriate depictions. Or how they can support children if they have seen incriminating images or videos.

Parents are in a difficult position when it comes to media education. On the one hand, they have to protect their children from bad content. On the other hand, however, children also have a right to access the Internet. klicksafe helps parents find a good middle ground between protection and digital participation. In our two revised info brochures, parents will find many tips on this topic. As of now, the brochures can be ordered again via the klicksafe material system.

From porn to insults to chain letters - in the class chat, people post what they can until late into the evening. This is because the class chat group is used by students to exchange information about school topics and much more. A lack of netiquette and a lack of time or topic limits in class chat groups often lead to problems such as cyberbullying or excessive demands. It becomes punishable if pornographic or extremist content is shared in the class chat.

The Easter vacations are drawing to a close. And many students will have spent their free time on YouTube, among other places. After all, the platform is still the most popular Internet site for many young people. With our teaching material "Kosmos YouTube", teachers can link directly to the lifeworld of young people and reflect on media content together. Four practical projects highlight both positive and negative aspects of YouTube.

Photo filters on Instagram, Snapchat & Co. are very popular for editing selfies. In a few seconds, the skin is perfectly pure, the lips bigger and the nose smaller. However, the filtered selfie could lead to dissatisfaction with one's own appearance in the longer term.

For the first time, the state media authorities have taken a broad look at aspects of online games that are relevant to the protection of minors. They examined and documented almost 400 games of all genres - also on behalf of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM). This revealed an urgent need for action.

Media Literacy Week will take place for the third time from July 4 to 10, 2022. This year, klicksafe will again be represented with various web seminars. Among other things, we will address the topics of cybergrooming and democratic competence in our presentations. Registration is now open.

The initiative "Data Privacy Goes to School" has launched a nationwide creative competition. Creative slogans or icons that promote data privacy will be awarded. There are class cash grants, cameras and headphones to be won. Students can submit their ideas until April 30, 2022.

We are very pleased to present our new website after a long revision. klicksafe.de has not only changed visually, but also technically and in terms of content. Our most important goal here was to make our website clear, up-to-date and barrier-free for you.

Cybergrooming refers to the targeted contacting of children in order to sexually harass and abuse them. At fragzebra.de, it is now possible to report suspected cases of cybergrooming. There is a handout for educational professionals on the reporting function. The reports are checked by the NRW Media Authority and, if necessary, forwarded to the NRW Cybercrime Central and Contact Point.

How can war be addressed in the classroom? Which competencies in dealing with media are particularly important for students right now? Our new klicksafe info sheet provides help for educators on these and other questions.

Media education in times of war - a new challenge for parents. How can educators support children and young people today? What should parents pay more attention to now? Where can children and young people get safe information and support? We have summarized the most important tips and links in the new klicksafe info sheet for parents. The new info sheet can be downloaded free of charge from klicksafe.

At the 27th German Prevention Day with the main topic "Children in the focus of prevention" klicksafe participates with two lectures. The first lecture will take place online on 09.03.2022 at 11:10 a.m. and is entitled "Virtual world, real danger: cybergrooming".