Latest news with #Bitkom
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SAP head says AI will cut routine but won't destroy German jobs
Artificial intelligence (AI) will not destroy jobs in Germany, the head of Bitkom, the association of Germany's IT sector, predicted on Sunday. While demand for workers would be reduced overall, this was no reason for concern in the light of a lack of skilled workers in Germany, Bitkom chief executive Bernhard Rohleder told outlets of the Funke Media Group. "This can be said for Germany: that AI will not have any negative effects on the jobs market for the foreseeable future," he said. "There will be jobs that will scarcely be done by people in the future, such as technical translations or simple office work, such as taking notes, completing protocols or standard correspondence," he said. Administrations already lacked more than half a million workers, he said. AI would increase competitiveness and productivity in admin departments and public service, he predicted. The situation was different in countries with more young people, Rohleder said. Christian Klein, chief executive of business software giant SAP, said his company saw AI as an opportunity. The focus was now on training staff and new value creation, he said. SAP had been able to boost developers' productivity by 30%, Klein said. "Monotonous routine tasks will fall away, freeing up time for creative thinking and genuine value creation," he said. Klein was reacting to comments from Dario Amodei, head of US AI company Anthropic, who has predicted mass unemployment and the destruction of millions of jobs in the United States.
DW
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Young Europeans are growing tired of smartphones – DW – 05/25/2025
A British survey found that almost half of young people polled would prefer growing up without the internet, with a majority welcoming a social media curfew. What's behind this? The Offline Club Instagram account has almost 530,000 followers. This seems almost ironic, as The Offline Club promotes taking a conscious break from social media, including Instagram. "Swap screen time for real time" is the slogan used by the event management company's three Dutch founders, Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom and Valentijn Klok. Their aim is to use The Offline Club to "reconnect people with themselves and others through real-world communities and authentic, offline experiences." For the past year, the three have organized meetups during which smartphones and laptops were not allowed. "Are you ready to ditch your phone?" they ask in a pinned reel on Instagram. Apparently, more and more people are willing to switch off their phones — at least for these organized events. Instead of taking their smartphones out, people read, play games, do arts and crafts or relax for a few hours. Workshops, called Digital Detox Retreats, take several days. "We envision a world in which phone-free spaces and offline communities are the norm," the three founders write on their website . The Dutch concept has been spreading worldwide over the last year. Amsterdam was one of the first locations, then came London, Paris, Milan and Copenhagen. Berlin has also hosted the first meetings of this kind. Also, a growing number of restaurants and clubs have been asking their guests to leave cellphones at home. TikTok-Brain – What social media does to our concentration To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video More people want to spend less time online, studies find The Dutch founders seem to have struck a nerve. After all, young people in particular often find it difficult to switch off their smartphones despite having all the settings that could limit their usage time. Even the return of the "boring phone" without apps has not been able to seriously displace smartphones, despite being celebrated on social networks. According to figures by the German industry association Bitkom from the end of 2024, people aged 16-29 spend more than three hours per day on their smartphones. That is the highest usage time of all age groups, and the actual duration is probably even longer. Young people spend three hours per day on their smartphones, most likely even more Image: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa/picture alliance Yet, a large number of young people would like to spend significantly less time on their smartphones. According to a new survey by the British Standards Institution, almost 70% of the 1,293 people aged 16-21 feel worse when they spend time on social media. Half would be in favor of a "digital curfew" that would restrict access to certain apps and websites after 10 p.m. Around 46% even stated that they would have preferred to be young in a world without the internet. These results align with other surveys, such as the one Harris Poll, an American polling institute, conducted in late 2024 . In that survey, many young people wished that TikTok, Instagram or X had never been invented. Explainer: Why Meta's monopoly is dangerous for you To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Political protection On Tuesday, British Technology Minister Peter Kyle hinted at considering mandatory curfews , according to The Guardian newspaper. Norway wants to raise the age limit for the use of social media from 13 to 15. As a global pioneer, Australia already raised the age limit to 16 in late 2024. Other countries, such as Denmark, ban tablets and smartphones almost entirely from schoolyards. In 2024, Danish Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said the country had been naive in its approach to digitalization. Australia has banned children under the age of 16 from social media Image: William West/AFP/Getty Images Harmful effects of smartphone use Excessive smartphone use is further associated with various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders and addictive behavior. A study published in the journal BMC Medicine earlier this year found that depressive symptoms decreased by 27% after three weeks of reduced smartphone use. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, young people's mental health has deteriorated dramatically over the past 15 years. This trend was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when digital media was increasingly used. However, the OECD also stated that research has not yet been able to prove any direct causality between those two factors. The founders of the Dutch Offline Club want to take action and expand their meetups. Offline events are increasingly happening in different cities. In early April, over 1,000 people switched off their phones and smiled happily into the camera in London. This marks a new record, the offline influencers proudly declared — on Instagram, of course. This article was originally written in German.
DW
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- DW
Young adults in Europe are putting away smartphones – DW – 05/25/2025
A British survey found that almost half of young adults would prefer to live in a time without the Internet. One startup from the Netherlands is trying to accommodate such people by organizing offline meetups. The Offline Club Instagram account has almost 530,000 followers. This seems almost ironic, as The Offline Club promotes taking a conscious break from social media, including Instagram. "Swap screen time for real time" is the slogan used by the event management company's three Dutch founders, Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom and Valentijn Klok. Their aim is to use The Offline Club to "reconnect people with themselves and others through real-world communities and authentic, offline experiences." For the past year, the three have organized meetups during which smartphones and laptops were not allowed. "Are you ready to ditch your phone?" they ask in a pinned reel on Instagram. Apparently, more and more people are willing to switch off their cellphones, at least for these organized events. Instead of taking their smartphones out, people read, play games, do arts and crafts or relax for a few hours. Workshops, called Digital Detox Retreats, take several days. "We envision a world in which phone-free spaces and offline communities are the norm," the three founders write on their website . The Dutch concept has been spreading worldwide over the last year. Amsterdam was one of the first locations, then came London, Paris, Milan and Copenhagen. Berlin also hosted the first meetings of this kind. Also, a growing number of restaurants and clubs ask their guests to leave cellphones at home. TikTok-Brain – What social media does to our concentration To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video More people want to spend less time online, studies find The Dutch founders seem to have struck a nerve. After all, young people in particular often find it difficult to switch off their smartphones despite having all the settings that could limit their usage time. Even the return of the "boring phone" without apps has not been able to seriously displace smartphones despite being celebrated on social networks. According to figures by the German industry association Bitkom from the end of 2024, people aged 16-29 spend more than three hours per day on their smartphones. That is the highest usage time of all age groups, and the actual duration is probably even longer. Young people spend three hours per day on their smartphones, most likely even more Image: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa/picture alliance Yet, a large number of young people would like to spend significantly less time on their smartphones. According to a new survey by the British Standards Institution (BSI), almost 70% of the 1,293 people aged 16-21 feel worse when they spend time on social media. Half would be in favor of a "digital curfew" that would restrict access to certain apps and websites after 10 p.m. Around 46% even stated that they would have preferred to be young in a world without the internet. These results align with other surveys, such as the one Harris Polls, an American polling institute, conducted in late 2024 . In that survey, many young people wished that TikTok, Instagram or X had never been invented. Explainer: Why Meta's monopoly is dangerous for you To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Political protection On Tuesday, British Technology Minister Peter Kyle hinted at considering mandatory curfews , according to The Guardian newspaper. Norway wants to raise the age limit for the use of social media from 13 to 15. As a global pioneer, Australia already raised the age limit to 16 in late 2024. Other countries, such as Denmark, ban tablets and smartphones almost entirely from schoolyards. In 2024, Danish Minister of Education Mattias Tesfaye said that the country had been in its approach to digitalization. Australia has banned children under the age of 16 from social media Image: William West/AFP/Getty Images Harmful effects of smartphone use Excessive smartphone use is further associated with various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders and addictive behavior. A study published in the journal BMC Medicine earlier this year found that depressive symptoms decreased by 27% after three weeks of reduced smartphone use. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), young people's mental health has deteriorated dramatically over the past 15 years. This trend was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when digital media was increasingly used. However, the OECD also stated that research has not yet been able to prove any direct causality between those two factors. On the other hand, the founders of the Dutch Offline Club want to take action and expand their meetups. Offline events are increasingly happening in different cities. In early April, over 1,000 people switched off their cell phones and smiled happily into the camera in London. This marks a new record, the offline influencers proudly declared, of course, on Instagram. This article was originally published in German.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German state set to restrict use of mobile phones in schools
The south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg is set to restrict the use of mobile phones in schools. Theresa Schopper, the state minister for culture, youth and sports, told dpa on Wednesday that she is planning an educational regulation with clear guidelines for the use of smartphones in schools. "I am concerned about protecting our children and young people," Schopper said, arguing that the negative effects of smartphones have been proven. The minister cited the impacts of mobile phone use on concentration, learning ability and mental health as examples, warning of the risks of cyberbullying and emotional isolation. "It's time to act," said the minister. She called for "clear, age-appropriate regulations." Bans on mobile phones in schools are already commonplace or in the works in other European countries such as Italy, Denmark and France. In Germany, however, rules on the use of smartphones vary widely as federal states are responsible for education. The German Education Union criticized the proposed initiative. "A smartphone ban in schools may sound pithy and assertive, but it is completely unrealistic," said board member Anja Bensinger-Stolze. "Who is ultimately going to enforce this in schools?" Many schools already have good rules in place on mobile phone use, she argued, and a ban could be counterproductive. "It would be much better to empower children and young people to use smartphones responsibly and to support teachers as education professionals in teaching media skills - for example through further training, strengthening democratic school processes and a good, public digital infrastructure at schools." According to a study by the Bitkom digital association in December 2024, three-quarters of children between the ages of 10 and 12 have a smartphone, rising to 90% for 13 to 15-year-olds.
Reuters
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Nearly 90% of Germans fear foreign election interference, finds survey
BERLIN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Nearly 90% of Germans believe foreign actors, primarily from Russia and the U.S., are trying to influence upcoming national elections through social media, a survey found on Thursday. Industry association Bitkom conducted a representative survey of more than 1,000 eligible voters last month that found 45% of respondents believe Russia is at the forefront of manipulation attempts, followed closely by the United States at 42%, and well ahead of China, at 26%, and Eastern Europe at 8%. For some two-thirds (69%) of eligible voters, the internet is an important source of information about the elections set for February 23, but conversations with friends and family continue to be more important, at 82%. Television, at 76%, still plays an important role as well, especially for people over 75. Roughly 80% of respondents called for the next government to make digital policy one of its priorities and 71% were in favour of creating a new, independent digital ministry, found Bitkom.
