The majority of children in 19 European countries report using their smartphones ‘daily’ or ‘almost all the time’. This marks a substantial increase in both the proportion of smartphone-using children as well as the amount of their internet use compared with the EU Kids Online 2010 survey.
The new report, EU Kids Online 2020: Survey results from 19 countries, maps the risks and opportunities of the internet for children in Europe. Among many other findings, the survey shows that the time children now spend online varies between about two hours per day (Switzerland) and three-and-a-half hours (Norway).
But while the time that children spend online each day has almost doubled in some countries, compared with 2010, many have yet to receive any online safety advice from parents, teachers or friends. However, when children have a negative experience online, they mostly speak to parents or friends, and only rarely tell teachers or professionals whose job it is to actually help them.
This report maps the internet access, online practices, skills, online risks and opportunities for children aged 9–16 in Europe. Teams of the EU Kids Online network collaborated between autumn 2017 and summer 2019 to conduct a major survey of 25,101 children in 19 European countries.
For findings from the 19 participating countries, please read more here.
For an introduction to the report from Professor Uwe Hasebrink, please watch the video below.
Watch short version here
Watch extended version here
See the interactive visualisation of the EU Kids Online data (provided by CO:RE - Children Online: Research and Evidence, core-evidence.eu)