Overview
- Infratest dimap polled 1,257 children aged 10 to 16 online for WDR between late January and late February.
- Eight in ten students report belonging to a class chat, most commonly on WhatsApp.
- About 35% encountered distressing content; among these, 69% saw insults or humiliation, 54% exclusion or bullying, 26% violent images, 17% hate incitement, and 12% nude images or videos.
- Roughly one in six participants in class chats say they were personally insulted or bullied there.
- Reported effects include worry (25%), feeling unable to put the phone down (19%), reluctance to go to school (17%), and crying (8%); experts urge parental upskilling, compulsory digital literacy from early grades, and more active roles for schools and authorities, with some schools already running prevention trainings and serious cases occasionally involving police.