News Overview 2021

Right from their first contact with smartphones and tablets, it is important to parents that their children are not accidentally exposed to content unsuitable for them through the use of the devices. They want to offer their children protection and a safe surfing environment. There is now a large market of various parental control apps. But the operating systems themselves also offer their own security and control systems. jugendschutz.net has reviewed and evaluated these for the iOS and Android operating systems. The results can be found in the two newly published PraxisInfos.

TikTok is by far one of the most popular apps among children and young people. The short video service is used daily or several times a week by a third of young people in Germany. Partly because TikTok is especially popular with young users, the app has long been criticized for its insecure default settings. Potential risks included violation of privacy rights and cyber-grooming. At the beginning of January 2021, TikTok announced that it would adjust the default settings according to age in the future. klicksafe summarizes what will change for underage users as a result.

KJM focus analysis on offerings from alternative media and influencers

In order to reach young people online, Islamist propaganda is increasingly focusing on emotional themes such as injustice, exclusion and powerlessness. Whether in the slipstream of protests against racism and right-wing terror or in the staging as a "moral authority" - youth-affine forms of presentation popular on Instagram or YouTube are preferred. This is a central result of the report "Islamismus im Netz 2019/20" by jugendschutz.net. Although Islamists try to stay within the limits of what is permitted, their anti-democratic attitude is evident in the overall view of their media activities.

How can I recognize fake news and is my child actually old enough to have his or her own cell phone? The need for reliable answers about media use has continued to grow in the wake of the Corona pandemic. Many answers can be found online, but it is not always clear how reputable the sources are. ZEBRA offers reliable answers. It is a service of the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (Landesanstalt für Medien NRW), thus economically and governmentally independent and committed only to freedom of opinion.

The school lockdown in most of Germany's federal states is once again presenting students, teachers and parents with major challenges at the start of the year. Germany's public broadcasters are responding to the school closures by expanding their educational offerings live on TV and in media libraries. But there is also a wide range of services on the web that support students in their learning. We provide an overview.

The new year begins as the old one ended: Corona is again the dominant topic in the news and social media in 2021. Recently, the long-awaited vaccination campaign has also begun in Germany. At the same time, however, numerous false reports and conspiracy narratives about alleged dangers surrounding vaccination are spreading on the Internet. Here are five tips on how to deal with them.