Threatening music, a long school corridor. A teenager in a black T-shirt approaches the camera, smartphone in hand. “This is not just a smartphone, it can also be a weapon with which you can quickly be prosecuted,” are his words. The smartphone then turns into a weapon. The catchy and elaborately produced video clip is part of the new campaign “Don’t turn your mobile phone into a weapon.”
Joint initiative of two Bavarian ministries
The campaign is backed by the Ministry of Education together with the Ministry of Justice. Unfortunately, there is an increasing number of punishable acts in connection with smartphones in Bavarian schoolyards. Violent videos, insults or worse are spread via social networks in chats. However, the pupils are often not aware that they are committing a punishable offence by disseminating them.
But sharing punishable content such as nude photos of minors or insults are no trivial offence. To sensitise children and young people, but also parents and teachers, the awareness campaign #MachDeinHandynichtzurWaffe was launched.
Influencer Falco Punch as the face of the campaign
But how do you reach schoolchildren and thus a very young target group? Hardly via flyers, instructions and lectures. The campaign takes a new approach: Falco Punch is the face of the initiative. With 560,000 subscribers on Instagram and 10.6 million followers on TikTok, the 25-year-old is one of the most successful influencers. As is customary on social media, he produced a short, insightful video together with the two ministries. In it, he shows how quickly a smartphone can turn into a weapon. He also illustrates the serious consequences of using a mobile phone incorrectly:
- A visit from the police
- Confiscation of the mobile phone
- Information to the youth welfare office
- Court hearing
- community service
- or even prison.
Falco’s advice to the youth at the end of the video: Use the smartphone for what it was meant for. Chat, listen to music, take nice photos and be creative.
Awareness campaign goes live
To further raise awareness of the danger behind the smartphone, the two ministries are organising a live broadcast of a discussion panel. As partner behind the camera and at the director’s desk: Stream1. We transform the Presseclub München into a professional recording studio with lighting technology, PTZ cameras and headsets. Tilmann Schöberl, known from the BR programme “jetzt red i”, will be the moderator. Furthermore, the panel will consist of:
- Georg Eisenreich (Minister of State for Justice)
- Prof. Dr. Michael Piazolo (Minister of State for Education and Cultural Affairs)
- Melanie Marston (Juvenile Judge at the Nuremberg District Court)
- Andrea Nüßlein (Chairwoman of the Parents’ Association of Bavarian Secondary Schools)
- and Egon Birner (Deputy Headmaster of Feldmoching Grammar School).
Around 2,600 parents and pupils follow the conversation via livestream. Not only possible no-go’s, such as invading the privacy of others, crystallise out of the discussions. Various solutions are also pointed out. For example, parents should first talk to their children about any illegal content they may have received via WhatsApp. And then go to the police together.
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Learn more
For us, this event was not only a mission, but also a great cause! A recording of the stream can be found on YouTube.
More information and a flyer with the most important facts and advice for parents and teachers can be found at: https://www.machdeinhandynichtzurwaffe.de/eltern-lehrkrafte.html.
Are you also planning an event and would like viewers to attend from home? You can reach us at 0049 89 41 41 453 10!
