Evidence Library
Comprehensive data charts, academic papers, and statistical analysis on the impact of social media on children and adolescents.
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Experience and frequency of potentially harmful online content, by country (Base: All children 10–16)
This dataset from the 2026 EU Kids Online comparative study provides European policymakers, who are debating platform regulation and social media restrictions, with critical empirical evidence by mapping children's self-reported annual exposure to seven key categories of harmful content. Across the 19 surveyed nations, exposure to severe risks is widespread: gory or violent images are the most common form of harm (40% on average across Europe), followed closely by content that encourages eating disorders (39%), self-harm (37%), and dangerous viral challenges/dares (36%). Narratives encouraging substance use (33%), adult pornography (27%), and suicide methods (25%) are also seen by substantial minorities of children, demonstrating that the systemic dissemination of risk material by algorithms is the norm rather than the exception. Cross-national disparities highlight significant geographic variation in exposure. Children in Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Malta report the highest exposure rates across almost all categories of harm. For example, 65% of Belgian young people see gory or violent imagery, and 56% see self-harm content. This is compared to 28% and 25%, respectively, in Serbia. Furthermore, extreme risks such as suicide instruction affect 45% of children in Malta and 39% in Belgium, while body image risks are most prevalent in Poland (55%) and the Czech Republic (54%).
Experience and frequency of potentially harmful online content, by country (Base: All children 10–16) - European Average
This dataset from the EU Kids Online 2026 comparative study provides European policymakers with essential baseline information by mapping children's annual self-reported exposure to seven key categories of harmful content. On average across the European Union, exposure to severe risks is strikingly widespread, with gory or violent images (40%) and body image content encouraging extreme thinness (39%) being the main culprits. Self-harm instructions are seen by 37% of children, dangerous challenges and dares are seen by 36%, and substance use narratives are seen by 33%. Furthermore, a significant proportion of European children encounter adult pornography (27%) and explicit suicide methods (25%).
Functionalities Linked to Exposure of Harmful Content (11-17years old)
This chart from the Ofcom Children’s Online Safety Tracker 2025 identifies the technical features through which children in the UK (aged 11–17) encounter harmful content. It compares data from before and after the implementation of the UK Online Safety Act and Ofcom’s Children’s Codes. Despite new 'Safety-by-Design' mandates specifically targeting the re-engineering of algorithmic feeds, the data reveal that scrolling on personalised feeds (35%) remains the primary functionality through which young people are exposed to digital harm. A significant trend emerges in the shift towards 'secondary' social spaces. While exposure via feeds remained relatively stable, exposure through platform comments increased significantly, rising from 14% to 21%. This suggests that, although regulators have focused heavily on the 'push' of recommender systems, the 'human layer' of peer-to-peer interaction in comments has become a growing risk vector. Conversely, the data shows a statistically significant decrease in intentional search behaviour, which fell to just 1%, suggesting that new safety duties have been successful in making harmful content harder to find through search queries.
General perception of safety and communication online, by country (Base: All children 10–16)
These data from the EU Kids Online 2026 comparative study evaluate European children's subjective feelings of safety, their sense of agency, and their comfort with interpersonal interactions in digital spaces. The data offer key insights into how young people perceive their own online environments. The strongest overall sentiment across the 19 surveyed nations is individual protective agency: 62% of European children report knowing what to do if they encounter negative behaviour online, demonstrating widespread self-efficacy regarding basic digital coping mechanisms (e.g. blocking, reporting or ignoring). However, fewer than half of European young people (48%) explicitly report feeling safe online, revealing a 14-percentage-point gap between knowing how to handle negative interactions and actually feeling secure in the digital environment. There are important geographical differences in perceptions of online safety across member states. Subjective feelings of safety are highest in Ireland (73%), Finland (66%), and Norway (66%), but are much lower in Central and Southern Europe. The lowest figures are found in Italy (19%), followed by Poland (31%), Slovakia (33%), Luxembourg (36%), the Czech Republic (36%), and Romania (36%). Regarding online identity expression, digital platforms serve as an important alternative space for self-expression for a significant proportion of young people. Almost a quarter of children (23%) find it easier to be themselves online than in person, and 22% discuss different topics online than in person. Meanwhile, 14% feel 'powerful' online. Nevertheless, intimate self-disclosure remains uncommon, with only 9% of children reporting that they share personal information online that they would avoid discussing in person (this figure falls to just 2% in Ireland). These findings emphasise that children do not view the internet as unmanageable. A clear majority feel they have the basic coping strategies they need. Rather, safety concerns stem from broader issues in the online climate, including low perceived interpersonal kindness and inconsistent platform safeguards.
General perception of safety and communication online, by country (Base: All children 10–16) - European Average
This dataset provides an overview of the average subjective feelings of safety, practical agency and online self-expression among children in Europe. The strongest reported sentiment across the region is personal coping capacity: 62% of European young people say they know what to do if they encounter negative behaviour online. However, fewer than half (48%) explicitly report feeling safe online, revealing a significant discrepancy between knowing how to handle negative interactions and actually feeling secure in digital environments. Furthermore, only 25% believe that other internet users are kind and helpful. In terms of online identity and communication, digital platforms offer an important alternative space for self-expression for a significant proportion of people: 23% find it easier to be themselves online than in person, 22% discuss different topics online, and 14% feel empowered online. Nevertheless, intimate self-disclosure remains limited, with only 9% sharing personal information online that they would avoid discussing in person.
High levels of digital skills for different types of skills, by country (Skills score 0–100)
This dataset maps the self-reported skills of European youth across four core dimensions of digital literacy. While European children demonstrate high proficiency in basic social interaction, they significantly underperform in critical information evaluation and content creation. Of the 19 surveyed nations, communication and interaction emerges as the strongest skill dimension (European average: 51), reaching peak levels in Finland (70), Belgium (65) and Estonia (64). Technical and operational competencies form a secondary tier (European average: 36), led by Belgium (54), Estonia (48) and Finland (47). However, the data also reveals a concerning deficit in critical evaluation skills, with information navigation and processing achieving the lowest overall score of just 23 out of 100 across Europe, dropping further to 17–19 in Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Spain. Similarly, capability in content creation and production remains constrained, averaging 24 out of 100 across the region (ranging from 18 in Slovakia to 35 in Belgium).
Information and learning activities engaged in every day or almost every day, by country (Base: All children 10–16)
This EU Kids Online 2026 comparative study dataset maps the proportion of European young people who engage in daily or near-daily digital activities related to learning, information seeking, civic participation and health-related queries. Across Europe, functional and educational internet use is a key part of daily digital engagement: 38% of young people use the internet daily for schoolwork, and 28% use it for self-directed learning or skill practice. Furthermore, almost a quarter of European children (22%) access world news online daily. However, there are stark cross-national disparities in the integration of schoolwork: daily internet use for schoolwork ranges from 76% in Belgium and 63% in Norway to just 18% in Finland. These differences reflect fundamental variations in national education systems and digital homework policies rather than digital literacy alone. Higher levels of informal learning and active news-seeking are concentrated in southern and eastern European countries such as Malta (39% informal learning), Romania (39%), Portugal (37%) and Poland (34% news-seeking). Conversely, daily online civic engagement and public expression remain marginal across all member states. On average, only 5% of young people participate in public online discussions daily, ranging from 1% in Switzerland to 9% in Portugal, and just 3% participate in online campaigns or petitions. Seeking sensitive health information online is also a specialised activity: 10% search for physical health information daily, and 8% search for mental health guidance—though this rises to 14–19% in southern European countries such as Malta and Portugal.
Main Reasons for Social Media Use Among Adolescents
Based on the 2026 Flash Eurobarometer 'Impact of excessive screen time and social media on young people’s mental health' survey of over 23,000 adolescents, this chart identifies the primary and secondary motivations for using social media. The data reveal that entertainment (57% in total) and interpersonal connection (53% in total) are the two main reasons why European youth use social media. While entertainment is the most commonly cited "first" reason (27%), staying in contact with friends and family is a close second, illustrating that social media serves also as essential social infrastructure. Although 40% of adolescents use these platforms to follow influencers or creators, only 29% use them for self-expression or to share their own content. Furthermore, metrics such as receiving likes and followers, are cited as a primary motivator by only 6% of young people.
Mandatory collection of personal information on websites and apps, stating that they do not knowingly collect children’s personal information (2025)
This chart illustrates the discrepancy between platform privacy policies and actual data collection practices, as revealed by the 2025 Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) Sweep. The study involved 27 global privacy authorities, including those from the UK and Canada, who replicated the user experience across 876 websites and apps that are popular with children. The data focuses specifically on the 54% of services that state in their policies that they 'do not knowingly collect children’s personal information', yet still require the disclosure of sensitive identifiers for account creation. A significant trend emerges in the identification gap: despite claiming to avoid collecting data on children, the majority of these platforms (62%) require an email address, and half (50%) require a username (often featuring the user's first and last name). Furthermore, 42% of these services still insist on a legal name and 15% require a phone number. These findings reveal a lack of transparency in the digital ecosystem. By using 'non-collection' statements as a legal shield while simultaneously mandating the collection of high-value personal data, these platforms leave young users vulnerable to tracking and profiling, without implementing the necessary child-specific protective controls.
Minimum ages in social media age restrictions in place or under consideration, by country as of 10 April 2026
This chart shows the age thresholds that are being adopted or debated in OECD member and accession candidate countries as of April 2026. The data reveal clear global convergence around two main 'digital majority' ages: 15 and 16. While Australia, Brazil and Indonesia have already moved into the enforcement phase with a 16-year-old limit, the vast majority of European nations, including Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, are currently debating this same threshold. A significant trend emerges in the clustering of European Member States. The largest group, comprising France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the Nordic states, is coalescing around a 15-year age limit. A smaller group consisting of Austria and Canada is considering a 14-year threshold. In contrast, the United States presents a fragmented landscape, with proposals ranging from 13 to 16 years old.