More than a quarter of all children and young people in Germany use social media to a dangerous or even pathological extent, according to a new study.
Addictive behavior is on the rise, according to new figures from the health insurer DAK-Gesundheit, which were made available to dpa in Berlin on Monday.
Last fall, 21.5% of respondents reported risky social media use - compared to 21.1% in September/October 2024.
When it comes to online videos, 21.4% consumed a dangerous amount, compared to 13.4%.
The study found that 6.6% of social media users and 4% of video users are considered addicted.
This means that around 350,000 children and young people have a "pathological" use of social media, DAK-Gesundheit estimated.
Combining those at risk with those addicted means that more than one in four children or young people in Germany use social media in a problematic way.
To be pathological, media must be used so much that the use is longer than planned or allowed and has negative consequences in other areas.
These include arriving late to school, getting lower grades, experiencing sleep disturbances, and other symptoms that may accompany a loss of control.
Dangerous use is widespread, but has not yet become entrenched on a serious scale.
The study found that children and young people use social media for an average of 2.7 hours on a typical weekday and 3.3 hours on weekends. The average time spent using social media has decreased slightly.
DAK-Gesundheit chairman Andreas Storm, however, called the development alarming.
"We must act quickly now to protect and strengthen our children," he said.
According to him, simply introducing age restrictions is not enough; more media literacy training is also needed.
Both parties in Germany's coalition government are considering ways to restrict children's access to social media. /Telegraph/
