Building on nearly two decades of expertise, EU Kids Online is launching a new wave of research—EU Kids Online 5. This latest phase continues the network’s commitment to providing high-quality, comparative evidence on children’s online experiences, risks, and opportunities across Europe and beyond.
The EU Kids Online network, now spanning 33 countries, will conduct a new representative survey to capture the rapidly evolving digital landscape. A key addition to this wave is the inclusion of emerging themes such as generative AI, alongside established topics like online safety, digital skills, and wellbeing. This expansion reflects the growing importance of understanding how children interact with novel technologies and how these shape their daily lives.
In collaboration with the Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC), EU Kids Online is conducting a qualitative study RIGHTS.AI to explore children's experiences with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). This research focuses on understanding how children aged 13-17 interact with GenAI tools, such as chatbots and image generators, and examines the implications for their rights, privacy, safety, creativity, and expression. The study encompasses diverse contexts, including countries like Kenya, Brazil, India, the UK, and 16 other European nations within the EU Kids Online network. By capturing children's perspectives, the project aims to inform policies and practices that uphold children's rights in the evolving digital landscape.
As part of its ongoing mission, the network will update its public database, ensuring access to the latest evidence for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders. In addition, members will collaborate on thematic studies exploring pressing issues such as AI and childhood, parental mediation strategies, and digital inequalities.
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