February 7 is Safer Internet Day - International Action Day for Online Safety#OnlineAmLimit - your net. your life. your limits. EU initiative klicksafe raises awareness for digital balance on Safer Internet Day 2023

EU initiative klicksafe's call for participation shows high response: Record participation with over 300 events nationwide / Current forsa figures show: Around 50% of both young people and parents think they should use less digital media to have more time for other things.

Ludwigshafen/Düsseldorf, February 6, 2023 - Whether at school, in the family or at work - our lives are full of digital activities. Digital media inform and entertain us and make learning and working easier. They play a significant role in our everyday lives and we wouldn't want to do without them. But they also tie up an insane amount of time - often too much. It's not always easy to set limits for yourself in time. This is just as true for adults as it is for children and young people: Almost half of all 10- to 17-year-olds find it difficult not to look at their smartphones. But a third of all parents also admit that not using a cell phone is problematic for them, according to the results of a representative forsa survey conducted among parents and their children on behalf of the EU initiative klicksafe in January 2023.

Constantly pushing yourself to the limit online can also lead to stress or even health problems. In addition, media use often leads to conflicts, as another survey result shows: Almost one in four children say that their use of digital media frequently leads to arguments within the family and among friends. Parents are correspondingly critical of their children's media consumption: 67 percent of the parents surveyed believe that their child should use less digital media. Conversely, however, parents do not seem to be the ideal role model in many cases: A quarter of children between the ages of 10 and 17, for example, think that their parent(s) should reduce digital media use in order to have more time for other things.

As the coordinator of Safer Internet Day in Germany, klicksafe is therefore calling on all action partners and interested parties to address digital balance under this year's motto "#OnlineAmLimit - your net. your life. your limits." The common goal is to raise awareness for balanced and healthy media use and to provide concrete tips for everyday life.

Statements on Safer Internet Day and the klicksafe campaign

"As the Federal Minister for Youth, it is important to me that young people in particular are self-determined online," emphasizes Lisa Paus, Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. "This is what is being talked about today on Safer Internet Day in many schools, youth organizations and clubs across Germany. I thank klicksafe for this important day of action and wish all those involved every success for their projects around Safer Internet Day."

"Awareness of risks and clear rules help young and old alike when using digital media," says Dr. Marc Jan Eumann, klicksafe coordinator and director of the Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate. "Too much media consumption leads to stress and conflicts in families. klicksafe provides many offers to master everyday life in a media-competent way."

For Dr. Tobias Schmid, Director of the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, the figures from the forsa survey make it clear above all that parents should also look at their own noses: "Using media to the right extent is a challenge for everyone - for young people as well as for their parents. But children and young people are better than their reputation: According to our survey results, they do have a critical view of the extent of their own media use. Something that parents should also take to heart. After all, they are role models when it comes to media use."

Record participation on the 20th anniversary: over 300 events throughout Germany on Safer Internet Day. Participate and discuss together.

With more than 300 registered events nationwide, klicksafe is registering record participation for its 20th Safer Internet Day anniversary. Schools, companies, public authorities, media companies and associations are once again taking part this year. In addition, there are many ways to get involved on the day itself:

  • Participate in the social media join-in campaign and set an example with the social media profile picture generator: All information here: klicksafe.de/sid.
  • Inform yourself and discuss together in the social networks under the hashtags #OnlineAmLimit and #SID2023.

At two klicksafe events, children, young people, parents and experts will discuss the question of how healthy media use can work:

  • February 6, Düsseldorf: "Between apps and dinner - How do families avoid the digital limit?"
  • February 7, Mainz: "Are we #OnlineAmLimit? - How we can recognize addictions and strengthen digital well-being."

Press kit for journalists and interested parties

In the electronic press kit, available at klicksafe.de/sid23/pressekit, you will find:

  • forsa survey: latest results of a representative forsa survey among children and their parents on the topic of digital health, commissioned by klicksafe.
  • (Video) statements: From the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus, among others.
  • Material for parents: The flyer "Between apps and dinner" provides parents with simple tips for more serenity in everyday digital family life - with lots of ideas to try out.
  • Teaching material: klicksafe experts have published a Digital Detox Box for school lessons and extracurricular youth work. With the box, young people learn to evaluate their own usage behavior, use digital devices more consciously and think about digital well-being.
  • Spots: Videos on the topic "What influence do digital media have on our togetherness?"
  • Infovideos: Concrete tips and assistance on the topic of digital balance.
  • Youth Talk Video: Interviews with young people on the topic #OnlineAmLimit.
  • Knowledge qu iz: Young people can use the quiz to test how well they know about digital dependency and digital wellbeing.

For more detailed information about the action day, visit the klicksafe website on SID: klicksafe.de/sid.

About Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day (SID) is a global day of action for more online safety and a better Internet for children and young people. Since 2004, it has always taken place on the Tuesday of the second week in February and each year sets a new thematic focus as part of the international motto "Together for a better internet". In Germany, Safer Internet Day is coordinated by the EU initiative klicksafe.

About klicksafe

The EU initiative klicksafe aims to promote people's online competence and to support them in their competent and critical use of the Internet with a wide range of offers. The EU initiative is politically and economically independent. In Germany, it is coordinated by the Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate and implemented together with the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. klicksafe is the national, German awareness center, and is funded by the Digital Europe Program (DIGITAL) of the European Union. Since 2008, klicksafe has also coordinated the Safer Internet Centre DE, which includes the Internet hotlines of eco, FSM and jugendschutz.net as well as the helpline Nummer gegen Kummer. On the website www.klicksafe.de, users can find a wealth of up-to-date information, practical tips and teaching materials on digital services and topics. The target groups are teachers, educators, parents and multipliers.