What Our Children Experience Online and How We Can Protect Them

  • For around a quarter of 10- to 17-year-olds, social media use is problematic, and the trend is rising sharply
  • Approximately 4.7% of young people are officially classified as suffering from addiction
  • Affected young people spend an average of 2.5 hours per weekday on social media

Kitten in a blender, nude photos of ten-year-olds, videos of beheadings – if your child has a smartphone, they have likely seen something like this.  

In the digital world, our children are often left dangerously alone. Thomas Hillers went undercover as a teenager and ventured into the thicket of algorithms and AI to understand how social networks manipulate individual realities. His book is an urgent wake-up call that explains the mechanisms of digital bubbles to parents and helps them develop a clear stance. Instead of mere control, Hillers offers strategies for genuine conversations so that children do not lose their footing in the vicious circle of overload and shame.


"Few people know as well as Thomas Hillers how young people really feel about what they see online—and where the dangers lie."Süddeutsche Zeitung

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  • Publisher: FISCHER
  • Release: 26.08.2026
  • ISBN: 978-3-7587-0060-6
  • 304 Pages
  • Author: Thomas Hillers
Buchcover von What Our Children Experience Online and How We Can Protect Them
Thomas HillersWhat Our Children Experience Online and How We Can Protect Them
Portrait von Thomas Hillers
© Sebastian Heun / Heundesign
Thomas Hillers

Als Thomas Hillers (*1989) 2020 an der Waldschule Hatten die Social-Media-Sprechstunde für seine Schülerinnen und Schüler gründete, hatte er keine Vorstellung davon, welche Wellen dies schlagen sollte, national wie international. Seine Social-Media-Sprechstunde wurde schnell zu einem Modell für andere Schulen. Er bildet bundesweit Lehrer*innen fort und hält Vorträge für Eltern über den digitalen Alltag ihrer Kinder.