Styrian young people spend four hours and 45 minutes every day on a variety of social media platforms, with Snapchat being their favorite portal just ahead of Instagram. No, it is no longer an on/off relationship that students and apprentices maintain with the digital world. The boundaries are fluid, they are analogue-digital life changers.
Max Mögler (15) from BRG Petersgasse, for example, describes his international computer game companions as his real friends: “Although I don’t know for sure what they look like or how old they are. One is in Denmark, one in Great Britain, one in the Caribbean.” “No, these worlds cannot be clearly separated from each other,” admits Chikanma Amadi (17) from HLW Schrödinger in Graz. And mechatronics apprentice Sandra Dobaj from the state vocational school in Mureck admits that it is difficult for me when I don’t have a cell phone with me for five hours.
What do you think about a social media ban under 16?
Sensory overload, content that is actually banned for young people, peer pressure – smartphones and social media have long since entered into social ban debates. Internet use also has consequences for mental health and the risk of radicalization (focus topics in parts 4 and 5 of this series). The state government made it possible to ban cell phones in schools this year. Australia has imposed a social media ban for under-16s. What do our interlocutors think about it? Max would like “a social media ban for under 12s”, Sandra advocates that the existing one for under 14s should finally be effectively enforced.
From personal experience, Chikanma can appreciate reluctance when it comes to smartphones: “I’m glad I got a cell phone so late and I also think the ban that’s currently being tried out at our school is a good thing.” 18-year-olds would rebel, but the class is now louder because everyone isn’t just looking at their cell phones but is talking to each other again. But the boys do see a problem with a social media ban: “It’s our most important means of communication.” In a representative survey of Styrians by m(Research for the Kleine Zeitung this summer, around 60 percent were in favor of a social media ban for those under 16.
40 percent of boys watch porn regularly
The fact that there are many dangers lurking on the Internet can also be seen from the current youth study by Arge Jugend and the social research “x-sample”. 40 percent of boys say they regularly consume porn on the Internet and 60 percent of girls admit that they are often sent unwanted nude photos and therefore become victims of sexting.
As if that weren’t enough, young women often come across ideals of beauty on social media that create pressure to perform and self-esteem problems, while boys consume not only sexual but also extremely violent content. “The algorithms then feed the boys more and more of this content into their bubble, which reinforces the reactivation of traditional gender roles,” warns Arge Youth managing director Dominik Knes.
Do you actually recognize fake news?
The boys’ self-image when using the platforms is quite reflective: 78 percent think about the consequences of a posting, 83 reflect before posting. A second problem area: Social media also dominates young people’s news reception – and it is increasingly a hotbed for fake news. According to the study, 62 percent of boys find it (rather) not difficult to recognize whether the information is credible. However, one in ten admits that they are not sure-footed here. Max Mögler is one of them: “I’m not that good at recognizing fake news, I think.” Sandra and Chikanma also have a little doubt about the 62 percent of “see-throughs”: “Anyone who doesn’t recognize the fake news also thinks they’re seeing through it.”
For State Councilor for Education Stefan Hermann (FPÖ), the study’s findings are a basis for youth policy decisions. However, in the social media misery he is not relying on the ban club, but rather “on media competence, education, sensitization and strengthening the responsible use of digital media – among young people and parents. Be it through workshops at schools or in open youth work. Raising the awareness of legal guardians – for example at parents’ evenings in schools – is also an essential approach.”
Alexandra Nagl, head of the state’s education department, welcomes the fact that young people are becoming more and more reflective online, but also reminds us of “the role models set by parents and adults. If we don’t want children and young people to be constantly behind the screen, we have to set a good example. This includes questioning our use of social media more critically.”
Queen Alexandra Nagl
© Lechner
