Sinus Youth Study: Critical of health contributions, little fear of AI

Contents

According to the Sinus Youth Study 2024/2025, video platforms such as YouTube or social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok serve as a source of information on health topics for young people aged between 14 and 17, but the majority do not trust them. Public offerings such as those from the Robert Koch Institute or information provided by health insurance companies are considered more trustworthy among adolescents. Prof. Dr. med. Christoph Straub, CEO of the health insurance company Barmer, which also commissioned the study, nevertheless calls for further offers to strengthen young people's media skills in this area.

What else does the study reveal? When asked about their experiences with artificial intelligence, young people tend to be fearless and generally well-informed. In addition, the majority still have experiences with cyberbullying.

Critical of health posts

According to the study, young people use YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram in particular as sources of information on health topics, but at the same time, the majority of them consider these services to be of little help (36%) or not helpful at all (21%). This is where offers from authorities or health insurance companies score highly. In 2024, 78% of respondents rated information from health insurance companies as very or somewhat helpful, while the figure for authorities such as the Robert Koch Institute was 75%. Health portals such as netdoktor or gesundheit.de reach 71%, Wikipedia entries 67% and established 61%. Less than 10 percent of respondents said that these sources were not helpful at all. The situation is different for posts by influencers on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. Here, 21% consider the information presented to be not at all helpful, 36% think that it is somewhat unhelpful and 43% say that it is very or somewhat helpful (very: 11%, somewhat: 32%).

As Prof. Dr. med. Christoph Straub explains, the importance of online health information has apparently decreased across the board, even as the coronavirus pandemic has subsided. Nevertheless, health insurance information increased in popularity among young people. While 13% of young people obtained information via their websites and apps in 2022, this figure had recently risen to 18%. According to Straub, it is essential that young people continue to be supported in recognizing facts and misrepresentations in relation to health issues. To strengthen media literacy, Barmer provides the “Durchblickt!” prevention project for pupils, teachers and parents, among other things.

AI is known, AI is accepted

When asked about their experiences with artificial intelligence, young people are well-informed and have little fear. Only 2% of respondents confirmed that they were completely unfamiliar with the term (2023: 1.5%). In contrast, according to the study, 71% of young people now not only know the term (2023: 64%), but also think they can explain what AI is. This represents an increase of 7 percentage points compared to the previous year. However, knowledge is not the same as actual use. Almost a third (32%) of young people state that they use AI occasionally: 9% of them daily and 23% regularly (2023: 5% and 14% respectively). Occasionally, 24% want to use AI (2023: 30%), 9% say they have never done so (2023: 5%).

Only 4 percent of young people see AI as a major threat (same as 2023), while 17 percent see the technology as more of a threat (2023: 19 percent). At 45%, the majority of respondents are neutral towards AI (45%; 2023: 44%). A total of 21% consider AI to be somewhat non-threatening (2023: 19%) and 10% consider it to be not at all threatening (as in 2023). In terms of professional ideas, 69% (2023: 73%) also believe that AI does not pose a threat, but 22% see a threat (2023: 17%). This is a deterioration compared to 2023; more young people believe that they are at risk.

Many witnesses, few perpetrators?

The figures on cyberbullying experiences were quickly disseminated shortly after the study was published. Over the years, they have risen to a level that is now being maintained. Messenger and social media continue to be the main venues.

In 2024, 62% of respondents said they had experienced cyberbullying (2023: 61%, 2022: 59%, 2021: 51%). More than half of respondents had witnessed such acts (53%, 2023: 52%, 2022: 50%, 2021: 43%). 16% stated that they had been the victim of bullying (2023: 16%; 2022: 16%; 2021: 14%). However, few respondents admitted to having been bullied themselves; in 2024, this figure was 5% (2023: 4%; 2022: 6%; 2021: 5%).

WhatsApp remains the top platform for cyberbullying. 50% of young people have experienced bullying here – as a witness, victim, or perpetrator (2023: 52%, 2022: 58%, 2021: 59%). After a sharp rise, TikTok remains securely in second place. While 34% said they had experienced cyberbullying there in 2023, the figure rose to 43% in 2024 (2022: 38%; 2021: 26%). Instagram has also risen and is in third place with 38% (2023: 33%, 2022: 42%, 2021: 41%). Snapchat is slightly behind in fourth place with 27% (2023: 21%, 2022: 24%, 2021: 21%), but the social media app has overtaken channels such as online forums and chat rooms (23%, 2023: 24%, 2022: 21%, 2021: 22%).

The figures from Facebook show that young people hardly use this platform anymore: 13% still experienced bullying there in 2024, compared to 21% in 2023 (2022: 17%, 2021: 25%). So, incited insult fights on Facebook are now safely in the hands of older generations. Insults are the most common bullying experience online, at least among young people, at 74% (2023 and 2022: 74%, 2021: 72%). This is followed by “spreading rumors” (52%) and social exclusion (33%).

Methodology

For the Sinus Youth Study 2024/2025, 2,000 young people aged 14 to 17 were surveyed in September and October 2024, representative of Germany by age, gender, education, and region.

(kbe)