In 2014, the IZT supported the "I-KiZ - Centre for Child Protection on the Internet" in its future-oriented process at federal level. The topic was: "Mobile internet use by children and young people". Remarkably, the different pedagogical convictions in Germany ranged from favouring consistent early childhood media education to pronounced abstinence considerations. This revealed open fields of action - especially in politics and the education system.

Youth media protection should also be adapted to a changing international media landscape. The IZT developed a stakeholder analysis and three methodologically coherent scenarios for the years 2016-2018.

Together with the expert commission "Knowledge, Research, Technology Assessment" of the Centre for Child Protection on the Internet (I-KiZ), the IZT tested the instrument of participatory technology assessment in order to be able to consider the development of appropriate child and youth media protection in the near future. The Centre for Child Protection on the Internet is a project of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) at jugendschutz.net.

The core question of this technology assessment was: "How do young users (aged 1-16) use mobile devices with internet access in the years 2016 to 2018?"

In three scenario workshops and two online collaborations, relevant influencing factors were identified, interdependencies and key factors were determined and three largely consistent and contrasting scenarios of a "capable" Internet society, a "violated" society and a "regulated" society were developed.

A stakeholder analysis was carried out based on the findings generated. The purpose of the stakeholder analysis was to better assess the situation in the context of the core topic, identify problems and better assess risks in order to derive consequences for social and political options for action as early as possible.

The three guiding research questions were:

  • Which actors play a role in the topic area? To what extent can and do the stakeholders involved want to promote or inhibit the use of mobile devices with Internet access by young people?
  • Which players have an influence on the social climate and what room for manoeuvre exists for improving the media skills of those responsible for education?
  • What can be done to steer further development in a desirable direction?
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