Social media can become a serious burden for many young people if they lose control over their use and it develops into an addiction. This is shown by recent studies, which have also sparked discussions across Europe about how children and adolescents can be better protected in the digital world.
For many children and adolescents, social media has long been part of everyday life. They use platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube to stay in touch with friends, find information, entertain themselves or share their own content.
Problematic Social Media Use Is Widespread Among Children
According to the latest media addiction study by DAK-Gesundheit and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), more than one in four children aged 10 to 17 show problematic patterns of social media use. Researchers estimate that this affects more than 1.4 million children and adolescents in Germany. The study has been examining the media habits of children and adolescents since 2019.
Social media use does not become problematic simply because of the number of minutes spent in front of a screen. More important is whether children and adolescents lose control over their use, whether other areas of their lives suffer as a result, or whether conflicts, lack of sleep, inner restlessness or psychological distress increase. The Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG) points out that intensive social media use may be linked to depressive symptoms, anxiety, attention problems and sleep problems. At the same time, social media can also have positive aspects for adolescents: it enables communication, a sense of belonging, creativity and participation in society.
Discussion About Age Limits
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina recommends that children under the age of 13 should not be allowed to have their own social media accounts. For adolescents aged 13 to 15, the discussion paper recommends using social media only with parental consent. Social media platforms should also be designed in an age-appropriate way for adolescents, for example by restricting algorithmic recommendations, personalised advertising, push notifications or endless scrolling.
The German federal government’s independent expert commission on the “Protection of Children and Young People in the Digital World” also considers a statutory age limit of 13 a possible approach to independent social media use. According to the commission, this would need to be combined with effective age verification and different levels of protection for adolescents up to the age of 18. At the European Union level, the Digital Services Act (DSA) already requires large online platforms to provide better protection for children and adolescents.
However, the debate also shows that age limits alone are not enough. Children need protection as well as guidance and media literacy. Platforms must also be designed so that endless scrolling, push notifications and algorithmic recommendations do not keep young users engaged for increasingly long periods.
What Parents Can Do
Parents can take additional steps to protect their children in everyday life. Experts from Ins Netz gehen, a prevention campaign run by the Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG), recommend agreeing on clear and age-appropriate rules for media use together with children. These include fixed usage times, media-free periods during meals and before bedtime, and sufficient sleep without a smartphone in the room. It is also important to activate privacy and youth protection settings and check them regularly.
What matters is not only control, but above all communication. Parents should talk to their children about the content they view, the apps they use and whether they have experienced anything distressing online, such as bullying, sexualised messages, violent videos, extremist content or psychological pressure caused by beauty ideals. Children and adolescents should know that they can seek help without being immediately punished or having their phone taken away.
Parents’ own behaviour also plays a role. If adults constantly look at their smartphones, it is more difficult for children to develop healthy boundaries. It is therefore recommended that media rules should apply to the whole family whenever possible. This may include charging smartphones outside the bedroom at night, turning off notifications or planning shared offline time.
Take Warning Signs Seriously
Parents should pay attention if children hide their usage habits, become increasingly irritable, barely sleep, neglect hobbies or friendships, or become very restless without a smartphone. Declining school performance, withdrawal, frequent conflicts or physical symptoms such as headaches and back pain may also be warning signs.
In such cases, it is helpful not simply to impose bans, but to look for the causes together: Which app is particularly difficult for the child to put down? Is the issue boredom, stress, loneliness, peer pressure or fear of missing out? If the problems become serious, parents can seek advice, for example from paediatricians, parenting counselling centres or specialised online services such as Ins Netz gehen.
Protection Is a Shared Responsibility
Social media can hardly be kept completely out of young people’s lives. It is therefore all the more important to create a framework that protects children while also enabling them to use digital services in a self-determined way. This requires clear rules within families, better media education in schools, effective youth protection settings and platforms that take responsibility. The current discussion about age limits shows that protecting children online is not only the responsibility of parents, but also of policymakers, schools and providers of digital services.
Sources and further information:
DAK-Gesundheit — Media Addiction Study 2026:
https://www.dak.de/dak/unternehmen/reporte-forschung/dak-studie-mediensucht-2026_164552
Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG) — Social Media and Mental Health:
https://infodienst.bioeg.de/gesundheitsfoerderung/fachinformationen/soziale-medien-und-die-psychische-gesundheit-von-kindern-und-jugendlichen/
Leopoldina — Age Limits for Social Media:
https://www.leopoldina.org/newsroom/nachrichten/detail/altersgrenzen-fuer-social-media-diskussionspapier-empfiehlt-besseren-schutz-von-kindern-und-jugendlichen
Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth — Expert Commission on the Protection of Children and Young People in the Digital World:
https://www.bmbfsfj.bund.de/bmbfsfj/themen/kinder-und-jugend/kinder-und-jugendschutz/handlungsempfehlungen-der-expertenkommission-kinder-und-jugendschutz-in-der-digitalen-welt–290244
European Commission — Digital Services Act and the Protection of Minors:
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/de/library/digital-service-act-dsa-explained-what-online-platforms-should-do-keep-kids-and-teens-safe-online
Ins Netz gehen — Recommendations for Parents:
https://www.ins-netz-gehen.de/eltern/beratung-und-informationen-zur-mediennutzung/
jugendschutz.net — Social Media and the Protection of Minors:
https://www.jugendschutz.net/themen/social-media
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