Press releaseSafer Internet Day 2024: klicksafe raises awareness about pornography online

Ludwigshafen/Düsseldorf, 05.02.2024 | Children and young people quickly come into contact with pornography when surfing the internet. And often unintentionally, as the latest JIM (Youth, Information, Media) 2023 study shows: According to the study, 23 percent of young people were confronted with pornographic content online in the month prior to the survey. According to a representative forsa survey commissioned by klicksafe and published on the occasion of the SID on February 6, almost half of parents know or suspect that their child has come into contact with pornographic content online. On average, the children were twelve years old when they saw pornographic content for the first time. Many parents and guardians would like external support in raising awareness, especially from schools (65%) and media literacy initiatives (45%).
"As Federal Youth Minister, it is important to me that young people are also safe online," says Lisa Paus, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. "Especially Safer Internet Day helps to draw attention to the importance of this topic every year. I would like to thank klicksafe for this important day of action and wish everyone involved every success with their Safer Internet Day projects."
Dr. Marc Jan Eumann, Director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Media Authority and Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), points out that pornographic content can be particularly disturbing and developmentally damaging for children : "Porn is not a children's programme. That's why it's clear to me that children need protection, young people need competence and parents and guardians need guidance."
Dr. Tobias Schmid, Director of the Media Authority NRW, emphasizes: "Many parents don't believe that their children come into contact with porn. I can understand that as a hope, but it is very far from the reality. More than half of them see porn before they are 14 years old. That's why it's important for parents to be aware of this issue and explain to their children that what they see on the internet is fake and has nothing to do with real sexuality. At best, before children are confronted with porn."
A total of around 250 events, offers and projects are planned throughout Germany for Safer Internet Day. All activities, materials and further information can be found online at klicksafe.de/sid. The day of action will be accompanied and discussed on social media with the hashtags #SID2024 and #SID24.
Join in with the "Let's talk about porn" campaign - ask us your questions in the Q&A-Chat
There are many questions and uncertainties when it comes to dealing with pornography and sexual content online. For example, how young people should behave when porn is circulating in class chats or how parents can best educate their children about pornography online. On Safer Internet Day, the members of the German Safer Internet Center - klicksafe, Nummer gegen Kummer e.V., jugendschutz.net and internet-beschwerdestelle.de - will provide competent answers. Whether you are a pupil, teacher, educational professional or parent or guardian - everyone can ask their questions. The experts at the German Safer Internet Center provide assessments on legal issues, support in the event of uncertainties and problems and offer media education assistance. In addition, sex educators from pro familia Munich and sexologist Magdalena Heinzl will provide information on sex education services. The Q& A-Chat is available free of charge on Safer Internet Day from 8 am to 6 pm.
klicksafe event in Mainz on Safer Internet Day
As part of SID24, klicksafe is organizing a specialist and press event on the topic of "Let's talk about porn!" at the ZDF Congress Centre in Mainz on 6 February together with the Rhineland-Palatinate Media Authority. Experts from the fields of sex and media education, youth media protection, politics and science will discuss where child protection must apply and when education is necessary. Together with pro familia Munich, klicksafe offers workshops for young people. In a protected space, topics such as body awareness, sexuality, attitudes towards pornography and the legal situation are covered.
New forsa survey shows: parents want more support
Almost half of parents know or suspect that their child has already come into contact with pornographic content online. Around two thirds of parents whose children have come into contact with pornography online were told about it by the child themselves. These are the results of a representative Forsa survey conducted in January 2024 on behalf of klicksafe and published on the occasion of Safer Internet Day (SID) 2024 on February 6. According to the survey, most parents would educate their children about pornography themselves. One in two would make technical adjustments, especially for younger children between the ages of 11 and 12. Two thirds of parents would like to see more educational work and support through and in the context of schools, but also through media literacy initiatives (45%). A total of 1005 parents and guardians of children and young people aged between 11 and 17 were interviewed for the survey.
Press kit for journalists and interested parties
The digital press kit, which is available at klicksafe.de/sid24/pressekit, contains the following information:
- forsa survey: Current figures from a representative survey commissioned by klicksafe show the challenges and experiences parents and young people face in relation to pornographic content.
- Video message: From the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus, among others.
- Campaign videos: Let's talk about porn
For school lessons and extracurricular youth work:
- Teaching material: The completely revised klicksafe handbook "Let's talk about porn. Sexuality. Identity and Pornography" was developed in cooperation with pro familia Munich. It contains background information for teachers and specialists as well as concrete practical projects and worksheets on the content modules "Life in puberty", "Ideals of beauty in our society", "Pornography on the net", "Sexualized violence and digital border violations".
- Video: Street survey "Let's talk about porn". klicksafe asked: Is watching porn okay? When did you first come into contact with pornography? How are women and men portrayed in porn? And how do you feel about young people under the age of 18 coming into contact with such content?
For young people:
- Knowledge quizzes: The new klicksafe quizzes teach young people aged 14 and over about "Porn Myths" and "Pornography on the Net".
- Info card set: In five info cards, young people receive help with disturbing content, learn to recognize their own boundaries, reflect on porn myths and get to know good offers on the subject of sex education.
For parents:
- Infosheet: The info sheet "Voll Porno! How do I talk to my child about pornographic content online?" provides parents with helpful tips on technical device settings, ways to open a conversation about porn consumption, legal boundaries and information on reporting centers.
Further information on Safer Internet Day
All information about the SID on the klicksafe website
klicksafe .de/sid provides detailed information about the action day, including an overview of nationwide campaigns and formats as well as the opportunity to register your own (online) events. You can also subscribe to the SID newsletter and download all materials from the website.
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. It has been held on the Tuesday of the second week of February since 2004 and focuses on a new topic every year 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 skills and support them in using the internet competently and critically 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 Center 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 material on digital services and topics. The target groups are teachers, educators, parents and multipliers.
Links
klicksafe.de/sid
klicksafe.de
Social media
facebook.com/klicksafe
instagram.com/klicksafe
youtube.com/klicksafegermany
Hashtags
#SID2024
#SID24