Healthy use of media in childhood and adolescence

Develop and implement municipal services together

Nationwide, there has been demonstrable evidence for years of an increasing and earlier use of digital media by children, starting as early as primary school age. This is facilitated by the rapidly increasing availability of digital media in the households of the target group.

The project “Healthy use of media in childhood and adolescence” pursues the overarching goal of promoting media literacy and healthy use of media among children and young people between 6 and 16 years of age and their parents.

In the state of Bremen, the aim is to specifically target children, young people and parents from socially disadvantaged backgrounds through programs in the school and neighborhood environments, including media education programs for children in primary schools, multi-part workshops or expert conferences for young people in the neighborhood and programs for parents.

Goals

The project focuses on promoting healthy media use among children and young people, aiming to foster media literacy combined with strengthening health literacy within this target group. The planned measures will be implemented in the settings of primary school (ages 6-11) and neighborhood (ages 11-16). Parents will also be involved in both settings.

This will involve utilizing existing effective structures such as health professionals in schools and health professionals in Bremen's neighborhoods. These and other multipliers will be trained in media education and media literacy, and corresponding programs will be developed and implemented.

Specific areas of action include media addiction and digital violence/cyberbullying, as well as topics such as body image, healthy use of devices (duration, posture, eye hygiene, etc.), promoting physical activity through the use of digital media, and finding reliable (health-related) information.

Measures

Existing programs promoting media literacy for children, young people, and their parents/guardians in the state of Bremen are being researched. At the primary schools participating in the "Health Professionals at Bremen Schools" project, all fourth-grade students will be offered media literacy training during the project.
Parent evenings or parent cafés on the topic of media literacy will also be offered at all participating primary schools during the project period.

At the deployment locations of Bremen's healthcare professionals in the WiN districts of Bremen and in Bremerhaven, programs for young people and their parents are being developed or implemented by professional, external organizations to promote media literacy. Municipal organizations (such as youth centers, family centers, adult education centers, etc.) are involved in this process.

Healthcare professionals in schools and neighborhoods, as well as other professionals in the education and social sectors, have been sensitized to the topic and trained as multipliers. Information on media literacy counseling and support services is compiled and made available to multipliers and the dialogue group.
Registration is open for primary schools.

materials

• Overview of websites on media literacy (helpful pages on the topic of media literacy for various target groups; this section primarily includes new foreign language offerings), as of 09/2025
• Overview of media education services in Bremen (workshops, training courses to promote media literacy, counseling for excessive media consumption, etc.), as of 09/2025
• Contact points for digital violence (information and practical tips, legal support, psychological support and counselling in crises, prevention of digital violence)

Further information and materials

The project is funded by the health insurance funds/associations of the state of Bremen according to §20 a SGB V within the framework of their tasks for health promotion and prevention in everyday life.

Cooperation partners:

• Senatorial Authority for Health, Women and Consumer Protection
• Healthcare professionals in the Bremen & Bremerhaven area
• Health professionals at Bremen primary schools
• City of Bremerhaven Magistrate's Office for Public Health

Project duration: September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2026

contact

Merle Flemming
merle.flemming@gesundheit-nds-hb.de
0511 / 388 11 89 – 327

Annika Ruef
annika.ruef@gesundheit-nds-hb.de
0511 / 388 11 89 – 326

Julia Törper
julia.toerper@gesundheit-nds-hb.de
0511 / 388 11 89 – 328