Children's Social Media Engagement Boosting Media Literacy Skills!
On World Children's Day, the German Psychotherapists' Association e.V. (DPtV) released a statement in Berlin, calling for a more nuanced understanding of the impact of social media on the mental health of children and adolescents.
The DPtV, with its 33,000 psychotherapists, is the largest professional association for psychological psychotherapists, child and adolescent psychotherapists, and psychotherapists in training in Germany. The association represents the concerns of its members and advocates for their interests vis-à-vis politics, institutions, authorities, health insurers, and in all committees of the self-governance of psychotherapeutic professions.
The DPtV believes that moderate social media consumption can have positive effects, such as fostering connections and providing a platform for self-expression. However, the association is concerned about the lack of measures to protect children and adolescents from potential harm on social media, such as cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, and the risk of addiction.
Dr. Josepha Katzmann, a member of the Federal Board of the German Psychotherapists' Association (DPtV), emphasized the importance of creating more preventive and therapeutic offers to address psychological stress in children and adolescents. She stated that it is crucial to recognize psychological strains early in children and adolescents, and address the causes of stress such as school stress, troubled families, poverty, or crisis experiences.
Katzmann also highlighted the link between social media and mental illnesses in children and adolescents as a well-documented issue. However, she clarified that the correlation between excessive media use and mental illnesses has not yet been scientifically proven.
In light of these concerns, the DPtV is calling for a more responsible approach to social media use by minors. The association advocates for a more nuanced view of problematic social media consumption by minors and believes that bans alone are not helpful in addressing psychological stress in children and adolescents. Instead, the association advocates for addressing the causes of stress and providing support to children and adolescents to use social media competently and independently without losing sight of child and youth protection.
The planned "Strategy for Mental Health" in the German government's coalition agreement is a sensible project, according to Katzmann, and expertise from child and adolescent psychotherapists should be particularly involved. The National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina also called in September 2025 on World Children's Day for better recognition and assessment of the problematic effects of social media use among children and adolescents, emphasizing risks such as addiction, depression, anxiety, and recommending political actions for age-related access restrictions and protections.
Article 17 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right to access mass media while being effectively protected from its dangers. The DPtV's statement comes at a time when the issue of social media and its impact on children's mental health is gaining increasing attention, and the association is calling for action to ensure the protection and well-being of children and adolescents in the digital age.
On September 20, 2025, a document titled '2025-09-20-World-Child- - Social Media.pdf' was released by the German Psychotherapists' Association e.V. (DPtV), outlining the association's stance on the issue and its recommendations for action. The statement by the German Psychotherapists' Association e.V. (DPtV) marks an important step in the ongoing conversation about the role of social media in the lives of children and adolescents, and the need for responsible and effective measures to protect their mental health.
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