Child and youth psychologist Kerstin Paschke is demanding immediate regulation of major social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat, within Germany. Speaking to the newspaper “Spiegel”, she criticized the political response, stating that Germany is too late in examining ways to limit children’s and adolescents’ access to these services. Paschke expressed surprise that the debate surrounding the health risks of social media use for youth was still ongoing, suggesting such discussions should have occurred a decade ago, as many aspects of the future outcomes could have been foreseen.
As the head of the German Center for Addiction Issues in Child and Youth at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, and an expert on problematic media use, Paschke treats children suffering from social media dependency. She provided specific age-based recommendations: she believes children under 13 should not use commercial social platforms independently, and for those aged 14 to 15, the content consumed must be vetted to ensure it is age-appropriate.
Data from the latest DAK-Gesundheit media addiction study highlights concerning usage patterns. On average, children and teens utilize social media for two hours and 26 minutes on a weekday, and this increases to three hours and 21 minutes on a weekend day. Furthermore, the rate of pathological usage behavior among 10- to 17-year-olds has more than doubled since 2019, rising from 3.2% to 6.6%, indicating that over one-fifth of young people exhibit risky usage habits.
Paschke points to the role of parental behavior, explaining that children who struggle with media consumption frequently mimic their parents. She notes that if parents habitually turn to their phones when feeling bored, agitated, or needing a distraction, it is more likely that children will learn to regulate their own emotions through media consumption rather than discussing their feelings with their caregivers. She also highlighted that studies show that children in many households are able to use media for indeterminate lengths of time, a situation she described as “disturbing”. Additionally, she warned that parents of children with problematic media usage often underestimate the severity of the issue, sometimes eventually normalizing the unhealthy behavior.
Concluding her remarks, Paschke advised parents to proactively set boundaries and provide guidance. She stressed that the development of an addiction is also dependent on the parents’ willingness to question the usage and their ability to clearly assert a position regarding their child’s media habits.