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Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - A portal from the State Office for Communication Baden-Württemberg (LfK) is intended to make it easier for parents to use apps and game consoles for their children safely in the future.
The special thing about it: Parents can choose on the website which device or which app they want to set up for their child to be suitable for young people.
You will be guided step by step through the possible settings.
The portal medien-kindersicher.de was developed together with the state media authorities of Bremen (brema) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MMV).
"Children often use services and apps very quickly and in a very ignorant manner before parents realize that they should protect their children from possible dangers," says Benjamin Thull, an expert on youth media protection at LfK.
The platform was developed from discussions with parents and their problems in dealing with the media.
It should keep handling the large number of devices and setting options as easy as possible.
Because many are overwhelmed by the amount of settings in their apps or consoles, it is possible to note the devices in their own household on the website and to adjust them at a later point in time.
Expert Thull is convinced that this effort is worth it.
The potential dangers in the network are numerous - and with smartphones only a swipe of a finger away.
The youth media protection expert differentiates between two types of dangers for children and young people online.
Content risks such as pornography or racist images and language.
But he also sees so-called communication risks as a real danger on the Internet.
This includes grooming, for example.
The term describes adults who approach children and adolescents via the Internet, gain their trust and pursue sexual motives in the process.
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In addition to the multitude of dangers and constant availability, the speed with which apps and content change is a challenge for the protection of minors in the media.
Social networks and mobile media use have dramatically changed the demands on safe media use by children.
The portal should also provide assistance here.
But there is one thing the portal cannot completely remove from parents.
"If someone can operate and adjust a device, that is not synonymous with the ability to teach their child how to use the media critically and thoughtfully," says Thull.
"Media child safe" portal