Children’s hopes and worries about their future with technologies (European Average across 19 countries)

These data from the EU Kids Online 2026 comparative study provide European policymakers with crucial empirical insights into children's attitudes towards emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, state and corporate surveillance, and environmental impact. European youth have a pragmatic yet deeply cautious outlook: they embrace the functional benefits of digital tools but worry about the loss of systemic control, privacy violations, and automated tracking. While a majority of children recognise the clear educational and social benefits of future technologies, such as easier access to knowledge (51%), feeling included and treated fairly when using digital apps (50%), boosted creativity and imagination (37%), and automation freeing workers and students from repetitive tasks (33%), they also harbour significant concerns. However, systemic tech anxieties significantly outweigh optimism. The main concerns are technology advancing beyond human control (41% agree, 17% strongly agree) and environmental degradation caused by tech's demand for resources (41% agree, 16% strongly agree). Furthermore, 40% of children fear unauthorised sharing of their personal data by apps and 36% are concerned about societal disruption caused by deepfakes and fake news, and under one-third of respondents (28%) are afraid of becoming excessively dependent on technology.