News Overview

66 million people play on the online platform Roblox every day. About half of them are under 13 years old. Thus, Roblox has a special responsibility to ensure the safety of its users. Judith Eckart from jugendschutz.net explains in our new podcast episode which safety precautions are in place at Roblox and how well they work. The interview is based on the new report "Is Roblox safe?" by jugendschutz.net.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media services among young people in Germany. With our new quiz, young people can check how well they know about the platform. How do you recognize advertising? How do you protect yourself from harassment? And what's the blue tick all about? To go with this, a revised edition of our long-out-of-print Instagram flyer is now available to order again.

"But everyone else has one too!" - this argument is probably well known to parents. But how old should children be when they get their first cell phone? Many parents use the change from elementary to secondary school to equip their children with their own smartphone. How can parents tell if their child is ready for their own smartphone? And is a smartwatch a good alternative? We answer the most important questions parents have about smartphones in children's hands.

Snapchat is part of everyday communication for many young people. The free app can be used to send pictures and videos. It is particularly popular to edit the recordings with filters and effects. However, using the app also involves some risks that you should know about. With our new quiz, young people can check how well they know Snapchat. In addition, klicksafe also offers further information about the app.

There are lots of exciting things to discover online - and screen time is skyrocketing... The new support material for the media scouts' peer-to-peer work offers help. With it, students can consider together in class what digital balance means to them. And how they can avoid smartphones and other devices becoming a stress factor.

TikTok is always in the headlines. Most of the time, it's about the app's darker side. Fatal accidents caused by challenges. Possible surveillance by the Chinese government. Or an addictive algorithm. This doesn't seem to be hurting the app's success. In Germany, too, millions of young people use TikTok every day. With the new quiz on TikTok, young people learn in a fun way how to use the app more safely. In addition, klicksafe offers a lot more information and materials on the topic of TikTok.

The TOMMI children's software prize will be awarded for the 22nd time this year. The winners are selected by a children's jury. All interested parties between the ages of eight and sixteen can apply now. Daycare centers with innovative and proven concepts for the use of digital media are also being sought. Developers and publishers can submit current games and educational software to the TOMMI until August 18.

A large proportion of young people in Germany use messenger, social media and video games. They should be aware of possible dangers and know where to find help. klicksafe has therefore published a series of flyers on the most popular services. Their content has now been updated and they can be ordered in the new design.

Has this ever happened to you? You are surfing the Internet and suddenly a shocking image or video appears on the screen. In this case, many people simply click away quickly. However, this way these images remain visible online - even for children and teenagers. It is better to report illegal content and content harmful to minors simply and anonymously. We explain how to do this in just a few seconds.

During the vacations, computers, tablets and smartphones are usually used more intensively than usual. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing, because after all, you can also be creative with these devices. Which camera setting is the right one? How do you edit videos? And how do you animate games? Questions like these come up when you want to work creatively with media. With the right tools and info sites, you can quickly learn the most important tricks & and make the most of the vacation season creatively. This not only adds value to your own media experience. It also enables an informed and critical examination of media content. klicksafe presents recommendable offers.

"So cute", "OMG", "Diamond flight" - with one click you can "support" creators on TikTok with monetary gifts. The harmless names often don't reveal the real value. Because some gifts cost up to 300 euros. Especially in so-called live matches, viewers are encouraged to send gifts of money. We explain how the gift system on TikTok works and which settings in the app are important for young people.

For many families, the vacation season begins now. Often parents share the beautiful moments with their children at the beach or pool online. Caution is advised here! Children have the right to their own image and privacy. In addition, supposedly harmless pictures of children can be misused for sexual purposes. We provide tips on which aspects parents need to be aware of and how they can protect their children.

Where do children and young people come into contact with algorithms in their everyday digital lives? What are the risks associated with artificial intelligence? And how can we strengthen young users in dealing with them? We provided information about this in our klicksafe web seminar as part of the Media Literacy Week in Rhineland-Palatinate. You can watch the recording now.

The Dieter Baacke Prize is awarded to educational, social and cultural projects throughout Germany. The aim is to honor and publicize outstanding media education projects and methods of active media work. Applications are invited from projects that teach children, young people and families how to deal creatively and critically with the media and thus promote media literacy. The Dieter Baacke Prize is awarded by the Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK) and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.

Shock calls, supposed sweepstakes or the alleged new number of one's own child - time and again we read headlines about scams on WhatsApp. To counteract this and exclude unknown numbers, the app has recently offered a new function, which we present here.