Full findings from the EU Kids Online representative survey of 10- to 16-year-olds across 19 countries
The findings provide a comprehensive picture of children’s access to the internet, online activities, digital skills, use of generative AI, perceptions of safety, exposure to harmful content and experiences of parental and school regulation. The report also examines differences according to age, gender and socioeconomic status and highlights substantial variation between countries.
The report draws on a representative survey of 28,465 children aged 10–16 in 19 European countries, conducted between April 2025 and April 2026 by the EU Kids Online research network.
- Smartphones are by far the main device children use to access the internet. Across the 19 countries, 87% of children use a smartphone or mobile phone to go online every day.
- The internet is an important source of social connection for children. Communicating with friends and family is among their most frequent online activities, alongside watching videos, listening to music and using the internet for schoolwork.
- Children report relatively strong technical and operational skills, as well as skills for online communication and interaction. However, their ability to evaluate online information, understand how algorithms shape what they see and create digital content remains less developed.
- Democratic and civic engagement online remains limited. Only a minority of children use the internet to follow the news, discuss social or political issues, or participate in campaigns and petitions, showing the need to better support children to participate as digital citizens.
- Around two-thirds of children regularly use AI tools, particularly for educational and practical purposes. Many are optimistic about their potential: 37% hope AI will increase human creativity, while around one-third believe new technologies will reduce the time people spend on boring activities.
- Children also express concerns about the future of AI. Four in ten worry that AI-based technologies consume too many natural resources and damage the environment, and that AI may surpass human intelligence in ways that make it impossible for humans to retain control.
- Half of the children surveyed worry that their personal information is used for targeted advertising, while four in ten fear that companies share their data with third parties without their consent. Only 30% trust companies to protect their privacy.
- Exposure to harmful and hateful content is a significant feature of children’s online experiences. Three in ten encounter hateful messages at least monthly, although this ranges from 15% in Ireland to 40% in Serbia.
- Across the 19 countries, 40% of children report encountering gory or violent images, 39% content about ways to be very thin and 37% content about physically harming or hurting oneself.
- Only 48% of children say they feel safe online. The proportion reporting that they had been bothered or upset by something online in the past month increased from 7% in 2020 to 23% in the latest survey.
- Parental support has also changed. Half of children say their parents talk to them about what they do online, compared with 66% in 2020, while parents are increasingly relying on technical controls.
Commenting on the findings, the report’s lead author and EU Kids Online coordinator, Professor Elisabeth Staksrud of the University of Oslo, said:
“There is no single European digital childhood. Our comparative research shows us both what children share and where national contexts make a real difference. European averages can hide substantial national variation in opportunities, skills, risks and everyday practices. Without comparison, it is easy to mistake a country-specific experience for a universal one. The large differences between countries remind us that there is unlikely to be one simple policy solution that fits all children and all contexts.”
Professor Sonia Livingstone of the London School of Economics and Political Science, a co-author of the report, said:
“The 2025 EU Kids Online survey finds a sharp rise in the proportion of children who have been upset online in the past month – from 7% in 2020 to 23%. Only 48% of children now say they feel safe online, compared with 65% who reported always or often feeling safe online in 2020. More surprisingly, only 50% of children say their parents talk to them about what they do online, compared with 66% in 2020. Instead, parents are relying more on parental controls. Since European children gain important social and informational benefits from going online, it is vital that we improve their safety online more effectively.”
The report calls for safer, more private and empowering digital environments for children. Its findings point to the need to minimise the environmental costs of AI, maintain meaningful human oversight of algorithmic and AI systems, strengthen children’s privacy and ensure that children can benefit from digital technologies while being effectively protected from harm.
Suggested citation
Staksrud, E., Helsper, E., Livingstone, S., Lobe, B., Mascheroni, G., Stoilova, M., and Ólafsson, K. (2026). The EU Kids Online 2026 comparative study: Children’s views, experiences, opportunities and risks in a digital world. University of Oslo and London School of Economics and Political Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21953/researchonline.lse.ac.uk.00140901