President Steinmeier to Warn of Social Media's Mental Health Impact on Youth
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will deliver a speech on Tuesday, warning about the dangers of social media and its impact on young people's mental health. He will also call for a debate on the responsibility of platform operators in preventing online threats and hate speech.
A recent study by Forsa revealed alarming figures: a quarter of Germans have experienced threats of physical violence online, while 13 percent have faced threats of sexual violence. Steinmeier will address these issues during his speech at the presentation of the German School Prize in Berlin-Adlershof.
Steinmeier plans to criticize the lack of clear accountability in the digital space for hate speech, incitement, and the spread of misinformation. He will also highlight the massive mental and health damage caused by social media, particularly among young people. The World Health Organization reports that more than one in ten young Europeans exhibit problematic social media behavior.
The President will specifically address the influence of popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and X on families. He believes that young people can only learn to navigate democracy and assert themselves in real-life discussions and social networks through practical experience.
Steinmeier welcomes the implementation of smartphone bans in elementary schools but stresses that this measure alone is insufficient to protect older students from online bullying and polarization. He calls for a broader debate and increased responsibility from social media platform operators to ensure a safer digital environment for all users.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
