Abstract
The author begins by describing the generation of 4-29 year-olds as the "net generation", who already practise using interactive media in childhood. She presents two theories on the consequences of the use of the Internet and multimedia for the development of young people by comparing the theses of the American researcher Tapscott with Opaschowski. Whereas the former euphorically believes that children are being educated to become independent and multi-skilled, the German researcher fears consequences for psychosocial maturity due to arbitrariness, stimulus overload and lack of relaxation. In the following, the author explains which characteristics of postmodernity the "net kids" exhibit. In doing so, she illustrates the negative consequences that arise when the growing generation experiments with media whose dangers they are not yet able to assess. Finally, she describes the task of pedagogical media education in the sense of not only an experimental but also a reflective approach to media.
