Platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok have already become central sources of information. What role do social media, algorithms and disinformation play in young people's everyday lives? How do these channels influence the formation of opinions? To mark Safer Internet Day 2025, our initiative Teachtoday takes a look at why media literacy is more important than ever.
“For me, social media is by far the most important source of news.”
Elisabeth (17) describes how she keeps up to date with the news every day: “I use the Tagesschau app and also follow both Tagesschau and the New York Times on Instagram.” The 17-year-old has looked into media portals intensively and trusts these two. She is aware of the risks of disinformation – not least because the topic has been discussed in detail at her school. “In the first half of the 11th grade, we studied the topic of fake news in the subjects of politics, German, history and rhetoric. I have the feeling that the curriculum has been strongly adapted to political and social developments” she explains.
Elisabeth attends a grammar school in Berlin. Media education is part of the curriculum here and is to be implemented in all subjects. It works well at her school. In many other schools in Germany, it is not part of the curriculum, but awareness of media and information literacy is increasing overall. Recent studies confirm that it is particularly important to enable children and young people to filter, classify and critically question information.
Interest in politics and news between apps and attention
The JIM study has been examining the media usage behavior of young people in Germany aged 12 to 19 for 25 years now. The JIM study 2024 reveals: In general, 83 percent of young people are interested in news - both world affairs and events in their own region. At the same time, around two-fifths say that they feel affected by the multitude of negative news. This leads some of the 12- to 19-year-olds to avoid certain news sources (38 percent) or topics (32 percent).
Knowledge of current world events is primarily shaped by personal conversations with family and friends, but digital information offerings are becoming increasingly important. In the Shell Youth Study 2024, more than half (51 percent) of young people said that they actively seek out information about political events, both online and offline. When it comes to gathering political information, digital channels now play a very important role: 45 percent of all young people use online media (in 2019: only 30 percent), while 35 percent continue to use traditional media.
Short news videos and compact posts – often emotionally charged – are the best way to reach young people. The most popular apps among 12- to 19-year-olds are WhatsApp (81 percent), Instagram (31 percent) and YouTube (26 percent), closely followed by TikTok (25 percent). Algorithms play a central role. They analyze user behavior on the platforms and adjust their recommendations accordingly. This is how they determine which content is presented to users in the “For You” feed on TikTok, on the Explore page on Instagram, or in the automatic video recommendations on YouTube.
Concern about manipulation is growing with regard to algorithms and AI
Many young people are aware that algorithms influence what content is displayed to them. They are increasingly confronted with so-called “fake news” on the internet. 61 percent of young people stated in the JIM Study 2024 that they had come across fake news in the last month. Some also see a growing danger in disinformation – in the sense of deliberately disseminated false information that is strategically used to influence opinions.
Pablo (18) from Berlin confirms: “Because social media algorithms facilitate the formation of content bubbles and platforms are not regulated, fake news and disinformation are likely to have an ever-greater influence on elections and political discourse in general in the foreseeable future.” Elisabeth also fears: “I think that fake news has the power to subtly fuel the radicalization of society.” She sees this as a particular danger during election campaigns.
The concern of the two young people is reinforced by the assumption that artificial intelligence will make it increasingly difficult to recognize manipulated content. That is why 90 percent of young people want significantly more education in schools about artificial intelligence, about recognizing fake news and generally about how to deal with digital media, according to the current Shell Youth Study.
Safer Internet Day 2025: “No likes for lies”. Teachtoday has invited to an expert talk
Teaching media literacy is a social responsibility that parents, educational professionals and institutions must address together. Young people like Elisabeth and Pablo show that awareness of these issues is already growing. This is precisely the focus of the annual Safer Internet Day. The motto in 2025: “No likes for lies – Recognizing extremism, populism and deepfakes on the internet”. Hundreds of activities and events organized by the European initiative klicksafe will take place around the day of action on February 11, 2025.
Teachtoday, Deutsche Telekom's media literacy initiative, is also providing valuable support to help young people and their adult companions learn how to deal with AI, fake news and disinformation. Teachtoday is supporting Safer Internet Day 2025 with the following offers:
- In the expert talk “Served: The Menu for Your News Check”, Lidia de Reese from the association “Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia-Diensteanbieter (FSM e.V.)” talks about the influence of disinformation on young people. The conversation takes place at a set table, which symbolizes the flood of information in the digital space. The German word for the conversation, “aufgetischt”, is a play on the German word for “dinner”, “served”, and highlights how information is often taken at face value without being checked. You want to know what role lemons play in it and why raisins are not only sweet when it comes to disinformation? The talk gives the answers.
Click here to go directly to the talk - Teachtoday has even more exciting content for you on the topic of disinformation, such as interactive learning videos, infographics and teaching materials.
Click here to go to the Teachtoday topic special
