News Overview 2024

We say goodbye to you for this year and thank you for your loyalty. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a good start to 2025! Our materials can also be ordered easily via our website during the holidays and between the years. However, we ask for your understanding that shipping will only be possible until December 20 and then again from January 2 due to the Christmas vacations. You can find out which materials were particularly popular in 2024 and which news articles interested you the most in our review of the year.

You may have already noticed that the klicksafe website has also been available in Turkish for a few weeks now. We are thus further expanding our range of translations of klicksafe content. In addition, our most popular brochure "Mom, can I use your cell phone?" is now available in Turkish, Russian, Arabic and English. In this way, we are also supporting parents with media education who did not grow up with German as their mother tongue. These materials are also aimed at professionals who work with families where little German is spoken. You can order our flyers from us free of charge and distribute them to parents.

The Christmas holidays are approaching and media consumption traditionally increases during these times. Shared media experiences such as a movie night can be a great way to enrich family life. However, it can also lead to arguments and frustration if individual family members appear to be absorbed in their smartphones and hardly pay any attention to their surroundings. Especially if parents want to give devices or digital games as Christmas presents, they should set firm rules. We give tips on how families can avoid arguments about media use.

By the end of primary school at the latest, children increasingly want to use the Internet more freely and on the move. Parents are faced with various challenges: When are their children ready for their own smartphone? How can children participate safely with friends in class chats or on social networks? How can parents guide their children while giving them enough freedom? Our new information brochure provides parents of children aged 10 and over with tips and support for media education.

Smartphones are coveted Christmas presents among children and teenagers. This raises many questions for parents: When is a child mature enough to have their own smartphone? Can the devices be set to be childproof? What rules should I set for my child? klicksafe offers lots of information and materials that answer these questions for parents.

Many parents are already thinking about what to put under the Christmas tree for their children. Video games are certainly high on the list again this year. But which games and apps are really suitable for children? The TOMMI children's software award has been answering this question reliably for many years. The special thing about it: The target group has a say here! For many weeks, around 3,700 children and young people put their gaming skills to the test. Accompanied by expert staff, they tested the submitted games and educational offers in around 50 public libraries with passion and expert knowledge. The winners of the TOMMI 2024 have now been announced.

AI applications have become part of everyday life for many young people. Almost two thirds of young people have had experience with AI. ChatGPT in particular continues to gain in importance. While 38% of young people used this application last year, this figure has now risen to 57%. In addition, young people are increasingly confronted with problematic content such as offensive comments and extreme political views online. These are just some of the findings of the new JIM (Jugend, Internet, Medien) 2024 study by the Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (mpfs). The study is conducted annually by the Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg (LFK), the Medienanstalt Rheinland-Pfalz and Südwestrundfunk (SWR).

A planned social media ban for children in Australia has been reported for a few weeks now. The Australian government's plan has already cleared a number of hurdles, but there are doubts as to whether it can actually be implemented. Despite the unresolved details, the idea of a social media ban is also attracting a lot of interest outside Australia. We explain the dangers lurking in social media services, the positive aspects for young people and what parents can already do to better supervise their children on the services.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas shopping season - at the end of the year, online retailers outdo each other with bargains and discounts. Unfortunately, scammers also take advantage of the general shopping frenzy. They lure us in with supposedly unbeatable offers to tempt us into making purchases. How can you tell the difference between a fake store and a reputable online retailer? We show you what you need to look out for when shopping safely online and offer a simple checklist and teaching material for working with young people.

Safer Internet Day (SID) will take place on February 11, 2025. We are calling on everyone to take part in the international day of action for a safer Internet throughout February! Whether it's a public web seminar or a closed lesson - all activities are welcome. To help you plan your participation now, we offer you a practical collection of materials on various topics.

This Friday, JUUUPORT e.V. is once again organizing a day of action against cyberbullying. Under the motto "Together against cyberbullying", the initiative sends out a clear signal against hate and insults on the internet every year. At the heart of this year's campaign are two videos on the subject of sexting. In them, 22-year-old Celine talks openly about her experiences with cyberbullying and the unauthorized forwarding of intimate photos.

With the "LinkClips", Seitenstark e. V. presents a new short video format to draw attention to the colorful variety of offers for children on the Internet across many channels. Two new clips will be played every week until March 2025. With an entertaining and informative mix of animation and screencast, presented by Seitenstark's mascot Starky, children, parents and educational professionals and teachers will be inspired by good children's websites.

Today is the International Day against Bullying and Cyberbullying - an important day of action that draws attention to the urgent problem of bullying and cyberbullying in particular. klicksafe, the Love Always Wins e.V. association and the "Nummer gegen Kummer" (number against grief) offer support to those affected, parents and teachers. Cyberbullying is a growing problem, especially in times of increasing digital networking.

The Educational Media Awards were presented in Munich for the 27th time. A total of 15 media products for children and young people were honored with an "Educational Media Award 2024". With this award, the "SIN - Studio im Netz" honors the innovative ideas of the developer studios and provides parents and professionals with a list of recommendations as a guide. The award winners were selected by a jury in which children and young people were also involved in the decision-making process alongside educational professionals.

The EU initiative klicksafe is calling on people across Germany to take part in Safer Internet Day 2025 on February 11. Disinformation and hateful online content are flooding social networks. They challenge our judgment and our democratic values. What skills do young people in particular need to critically classify manipulative social media content? With the focus topic "No likes for lies! Recognize extremism, populism and deepfakes online", klicksafe is focusing on education and empowerment on Safer Internet Day 2025. The international day of action is coordinated by klicksafe in Germany.