A study shows that Germany's young people are well aware of the sensitivity of personal data. Data protection yes, but only without additional costs.
The German Economic Institute (IW) conducted a study in which a total of 3,000 students between the ages of 14 and 21 were surveyed about their own use of social networks.
It was found that data protection is contrary to usage, because the researchers see a clear discrepancy between stated data protection preferences and actual behavior in everyday life.
Around nine out of ten young people in Germany use social media every day and are considered “digital natives” because they grew up with the Internet.
The messaging service WhatsApp is clearly in the foreground with 87 percent. Snapchat is in second place with 54 percent. YouTube is used by around one in two people every day, while Instagram is used by 34 percent. Twitter comes last with 13 percent and Facebook and Google+, each with 17 percent, are no longer of any greater importance in the lives of young people.
“Data is the central raw material of the digital economy”
Most social media services generate the majority of their revenue from advertising. Knowledge about users in the form of personal data in order to be able to display tailored advertisements for individual users is worth its weight in gold for such companies.
Data in exchange for the use of corresponding services – and usually “free of charge”. The naturalness of using such online services definitely contributes to this and personal data is provided voluntarily.
Even if the vast majority of young people were critical of the transfer of data, they would still forego more data protection if the costs were incurred. The study shows:
Although data protection is important to many digital natives, the majority of them are not willing to pay for it. Some people are obviously willing to pay a small amount for more data protection. A critical assessment of data utilization by online services does not usually lead to the services not being used.
Only 16 percent would invest a maximum of five euros per month in data protection. More than 30 euros is only an option for 3 percent of those surveyed.
“For many social networks, the economic benefit increases with the amount of data,”
explains IW digitalization expert Barbara Engels – and many young people see this critically.
Around 73 percent don't think it's good if personal data is stored by providers and passed on to third parties. However, this mistrust does not lead to people abandoning online services.
This has to do, among other things, with the so-called network effect:
The more people in the immediate area use a service, the more likely they are to use it themselves - regardless of their concerns.
According to Michael Schäfer, author of the website Computer Base , this is a general problem in Germany. Around 87 percent of consumers are already falling victim to the “privacy paradox” - they use an online service even though they do not trust its data protection.
“When it comes to data protection, desire and action are in clear contradiction. For most people it means: “Digital first, privacy second.”
says Engels.
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

