Haken dran – das Social-Media-Update der c't · Gavin Karlmeier

Internetfreier Sonntag (mit Saskia Rößner)

·1 hr 12 min·6 clips

Medical handbooks from 1990 still define addiction, but they were written before Instagram existed.

1. Haken dran, the social media update podcast of German tech magazine c't, covers social media addiction and platform regulation policy with a specialist guest, Saskia Rößner, in its 'Internetfreier Sonntag' episode. 2. The host and Saskia Rößner, an expert on social media addiction, discuss the clinical and policy landscape around media addiction in Germany and internationally. 3. The episode's core argument is that social media addiction is real as a neurological phenomenon but lacks a formal German diagnostic category, and that media literacy education is a more effective response than bans. 4. The guest explains that the ICD-10, still used in Germany for medical diagnoses, was published in 1990 — predating Instagram — and the first clinical criteria for internet addiction were only developed in 1998. 5. The ICD-11, published in 2022, is not yet implemented in Germany due to translation and bureaucratic delays, and while it adds gaming disorder and compulsive sexual behaviour categories, it does not include a social media addiction diagnosis. 6. The nine criteria for diagnosing internet or media addiction, developed in 1998 and still in clinical use, require five of nine to be satisfied over twelve months; they include cognitive preoccupation, withdrawal symptoms, tolerance development, loss of control, loss of interest in other activities, continuing despite negative consequences, concealment, emotion regulation, and conflict generation. 7. The host playfully self-assesses against the criteria in real time, noting that checking social media first thing in the morning — criterion one — already applies to him, but that his professional relationship to social media complicates the exercise. 8. The guest distinguishes social media from alcohol by noting social media has genuine positive social functions (community, identity formation, contact maintenance), unlike alcohol where any consumption is harmful. 9. The guest argues that bans and age restrictions, while instinctively appealing, are unlikely to be effective because teenagers will find workarounds — analogising to her own underage alcohol and pornography consumption as a teenager. 10. Hessen's 'Digitale Welt' school subject, begun as a pilot at 12 schools and expanded to 80 secondary schools, was cancelled due to budget cuts, despite being nationally celebrated by CDU Digital Minister Sinemus and Education Minister Alexander Lorz as a federal first. 11. The guest, who is based in Hessen, expresses grief and hope that public debate will lead the Hessen government to reverse the decision before the summer break. 12. A KKH/Forsa study found 53% of German parents fear their child will become media-addicted, while 50% claim to be well-informed and 24% very well-informed about their children's online activity — figures the guest attributes to social desirability bias rather than actual parental awareness. 13. Australia's internet regulator found that nearly a third of parents report their under-16 children still have social media accounts despite the ban, and in two-thirds of those cases platforms never asked for the child's age. 14. In Indonesia, Meta and Google were summoned after they failed to implement age restrictions required under the country's social media ban for under-16s, which recently came into full force. 15. The UK is running a six-week pilot with 300 selected teenagers — drawn from 30,000 participants in a previous digital wellbeing consultation — who will have social media apps deactivated and report on the effects for a potential ban consultation. 16. France's social media ban for minors passed the Senate, representing a significant legislative step, though the hosts note France may be acting contrary to EU law. 17. The EU opened an investigation into Snapchat and four pornography sites — Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and Xvideos — for failing to prevent inappropriate adult contact with minors on Snapchat, and for inadequate age verification on the pornography platforms. 18. The guest cites data that 50% of 11-to-13-year-olds in Germany have already encountered pornography, and 21% of 14-to-17-year-olds consume it daily, despite the legal age of 18 — with early exposure being a known risk factor for pornography addiction. 19. The episode is a two-host conversational format, guest-heavy, with a self-assessment exercise, news reading, and a closing digital detox recommendation for the Easter weekend. 20. German-speaking listeners who are parents, educators, policy advocates, or social media platform watchers will find dense evidence and expert framing; listeners seeking entertainment or non-German content will find limited relevance.

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