Study: Young people are often sexually harassed online
Young people are frequently confronted with fake news, sexual harassment and insults online, according to a youth study. "One in three girls and one in four boys have already been sexually harassed online in 2023", according to the Media Education Research Association Southwest.
For the representative study "Jugend, Information, Medien" (JIM-2023), 1,200 young people aged between 12 and 19 were surveyed throughout Germany.
23% of those surveyed between May 30 and July 9, 2023 had also been unintentionally confronted with pornographic content in the month prior to the survey. Marc Jan Eumann, Director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Media Authority and Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), emphasized: "Porn is not a children's program". Pornography providers must carry out reliable age checks.
58 percent had contact with fake news
According to the study, 58% of the young people surveyed said they had been exposed to fake news. This included extreme political views, conspiracy theories and hatred. "The high level of confrontation with false information and hate messages among young people is alarming," said Wolfgang Kreißig, President of the Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg (LFK) and Chairman of the Directors' Conference of the State Media Authorities (DLM).
In addition to media use, young people's interest in politics and society was also part of the JIM 2023 survey. According to the results, two thirds are generally interested in current world events, 63% in climate change and 54% in the war in Ukraine. According to their answers, young people most often get their information in the old-fashioned way: 63% cited family conversations, while one in two referred to friends, television or radio as sources of information. Social media platforms, on the other hand, only serve as a point of contact for such information for one in three young people.
According to the press release, the Media Education Research Association Southwest includes the Baden-Württemberg Media Authority (LFK) and the Rhineland-Palatinate Media Authority, in cooperation with SWR.
The Internet serves as a platform for both the spread of fake news and sexual harassment, with 58% of surveyed youth being exposed to false information and 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 4 boys experiencing online sexual harassment. Consequently, many youth also unintentionally encounter pornographic content online, highlighting the need for stricter age checks by pornography providers.
Source: www.dpa.com
