The series covers topics including online radicalization, cyberbullying and toxic masculinity. The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina recently published a discussion paper in which the scientists advocate, among other things, stronger legal regulation of digital media - to protect the mental health, well-being and development opportunities of children and young people, according to the paper. In their statement on "Adolescence as a mirror of key social problems", Osnabrück school educators argue for a multi-dimensional approach to the topic.
"Schools and digital environments should not be viewed as self-contained spaces," says Prof. Dr. Sven Thiersch from Osnabrück University. A ban on cell phones in schools or a certain minimum age for setting up social media accounts will not keep problems out of the classroom: "That doesn't correspond to the realities of life," says Thiersch, who has dealt intensively with the topic through the BMFTR project "On the social practice of digitalized learning", among other things.
"Mobile phone bans in schools only regulate behavior on the surface, but do not achieve any profound effects, only reassurance and the fiction of control," says the statement, in which Sven Thiersch, Prof. Dr. Christian Reintjes from Osnabrück University, Dr. Dorthe Behrens and Prof. Dr. Till-Sebastian Idel from the University of Oldenburg and Prof. Dr. Grit im Brahm from Ruhr University Bochum were involved.
The scientists are in favor of increased media education that also involves the extracurricular environment - especially parents - and imparts knowledge that encourages reflection. This would enable young people to develop their own positions and develop sustainable resilience to the destructive influences of digital cultures.
Prof. Dr. Christian Reintjes, an educational scientist from Osnabrück, is currently investigating how digital skills can be strengthened at elementary school in the project "Digitalization-related and digitally supported school (culture) development through multi-professional cooperation at all-day elementary school" (DigischuKuMPK). The project, in which a team of around 35 employees from various universities and 30 elementary school are involved, is also funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology.
Further information for the media:
Prof. Dr. Sven Thiersch, Osnabrück University
Institute of Education
E-mail: sven.thiersch@uni-osnabrueck.de
Prof. Dr. Christian Reintjes, Osnabrück University
Institute of Education
E-Mail: christian.reintjes@uni-osnabrueck.de
