Today’s 60-year-olds didn’t grow up with the web, but many had their first contact with the internet at a relatively young age. The fact that in the 1990s it was difficult for average citizens to imagine the dynamics and dominance the Internet would one day achieve is, in turn, hard for subsequent generations to comprehend. Against this background, it’s probably no wonder that with the advent of the Internet in private households in the 1990s and early 2000s, families faced completely new sources of conflict. Parents, worried about data security with the then-new concept of online banking, often despaired when their children wanted to install ICQ on the family PC using the age-old argument: “But everyone has it!”

Well, as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said: “Nothing is as constant as change.” And so today, it is almost taken for granted that toddlers in strollers are tapping away on their parents’ phones.

Parents Do Not Always Recognize the Dangers of the Internet

Especially with teenagers, parents often assume that they “handle the Internet confidently.” Parents often forget that the web and social media can be weaponized by some young people, putting their own children at risk of threats or emotional harm. Our graphic clearly shows that from the age of twelve onwards, children increasingly use the internet independently. As Tagesschau reported, the percentage of 14- to 17-year-olds experiencing online bullying recently rose to 16 percent, up from 14 percent in 2021. More than 50 percent of respondents reported encountering cyberbullying within their immediate social circles. In 2021, this figure was still 41 percent.

Internet as a Fixed Part of “Life”

For teenagers today, the Internet is as much a part of life as “Bravo” magazine was for teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s. Some from the generation of today’s 60-year-olds shake their heads when they read that 52 percent of teenagers would find life boring without the Internet or that 57 percent cannot imagine life without the web. While the grandparents of the boomer generation didn’t know what a television was, for many boomers it is now indispensable. However, no one knows what percentage of their parents might have found life boring without Bravo magazine… It’s a reminder of Heraclitus’s point about constant change, something today’s parents might keep in mind.

School Learning Greatly Changed by the Internet

While it’s important to acknowledge the dangers, like its potential as a tool for bullying, the internet has also significantly eased many aspects of school and university life. While students in the 1980s, armed with 10-pfennig coins, would spend hours at the copiers in university libraries, much of the required information can now often be found on the web—paperless and frequently free of charge. The finding that 89 percent of young users have learned something online is hardly surprising. Who hasn’t quickly googled something? Even seniors learn new things online every day.

However, our graphic shows another positive aspect: many parents not only know about parental controls online, but they also use them.

What Does the Future Hold for Children on the Internet?

The web of the future, and thus its use, will be much more strongly shaped by AI than it is today. In schools and universities particularly, educators face the challenge of adapting their teaching methods. The goal should be not just preventing students from using AI to “cheat” or avoid work, but integrating AI constructively. Ideally, AI can boost efficiency and help learners gain a broader understanding than was ever possible for previous generations.