Bianca Heinicke: She is minimum age for social media

Bianca Heinicke (31) withdrew from the public eye when she separated from husband Julian Claßen (31) in May 2022. She reported back in April 2024. She announced that she wanted to give up her pseudonym “BibisBeautyPalace” and has since appeared again under her real name. In July 2024 she launched a blog on topics such as veganism and meditation and started her own podcast with partner Timothy Hill in the fall. She now explained about her break: “A lot had changed in my life at that time, especially privately, due to the separation from Julian. I had the feeling that I didn’t even know who I was. I was in my late twenties and I asked myself: ‘What do I actually want?’ I had to press the pause button.”

She goes on to say that she associates the name “Bibi” with a time from which she has mentally distanced herself. At that time she led a different life and discussed entertainment content and things from her everyday life. Her old YouTube content, for which she also received criticism, still concerns her today. “I’m currently going through them all again,” explains the influencer. “On the one hand, I delete content that glorifies consumerism and videos with collaborations that I no longer stand behind. On the other hand, I sort out overly private impressions, such as recordings of my children.”

The influencer has become successful through social media. What does she think of a minimum age for using the platforms in Germany? “Yes, I would be in favor of an age restriction,” explained Heinicke. “I don’t want to commit to a specific age because children and young people can have very different levels of development,” she says, referring to the fact that Australia recently decided on a social media ban for everyone under the age of 16. “In general, I think it would be great if there was a lot more education about social media, for example from the fifth grade onwards. About what it can do to you. About the positive and negative sides.”

Her social media fame has had negative effects on the influencer in the past. “It was affecting my psyche that I simply couldn’t do a lot of everyday things anymore.” She was immediately recognized when she visited the department store. She was sometimes thrown out of the shops “because crowds of several hundred people had formed around me. Everyone wanted a selfie.” She often felt like a statue, but today people are much more respectful of her. “I notice that I am often recognized, but many people just look at me. And when people come to me, they often don’t even ask for a photo, but just want to exchange a quick sentence with me.”