Greens demand minimum age for social media: 16 years to protect youth!

Greens demand minimum age for social media: 16 years to protect youth!

Österreich - The discussion about the protection of young people on the Internet is becoming increasingly important. The Greens have now presented a proposal that provides for a binding minimum age of 16 years for the use of social media. This initiative aims to strengthen youth protection in digital space, since younger users are often faced with problematic content.

According to a report by OE24 support this project. Barbara Neßler, the youth spokeswoman for the Greens, explains that children and adolescents are often overwhelmed by brutal images, women -looking contributions, fake news and right -wing extremist propaganda. The proposal for a minimum age is based on existing regulations for alcohol, tobacco and cinema films.

The dangers of digital space

Neßler points out that adults are able to better classify problematic content, while children and adolescents are often left alone. The growing threat from cyberbullying contributes to the urgent need to introduce legal regulations for the minimum age and to request more effective control by social media providers.

In a world in which around 5.3 billion people use the Internet and around 4.7 billion are active on social media, the useful life of these platforms is significant. According to arag is the average daily useful life 2.5 hours. The most popular social media in Germany for 16- to 64-year-olds are WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.

protective mechanisms and Enlightenment

The focus is on the topics of age restrictions and protection against cyberbullying, while many young users do not fully understand the importance of privacy settings. Cyberbullying affects around 96 percent of teenagers who have smartphones, and there are numerous students without shelter. It is important that children do not reveal personal information and are safe to deal with online activities.

The need for an open communication culture between parents and children is also emphasized. Educational measures about dangers such as sexting and cyber grooming are crucial because such topics can have serious legal consequences, as Section 176 of the Criminal Code for Cybergrooming provides. Parents should not only know the platforms used, but also set up their own user accounts for their children and set fixed times for the use of digital devices.