Evidence Library
Comprehensive data charts, academic papers, and statistical analysis on the impact of social media on children and adolescents.
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Percentage of 15-year-olds who report problematic social media use
This table presents the percentage of 15-year-olds who reported 'problematic' (addictive-like) social media use in 2022 across the HBSC survey regions, including European member states, North America, and Central Asia. The 2022 data reveal a "vulnerability plateau" among mid-adolescents, with an average of 14% of girls and 8% of boys exhibiting clinical symptoms of digital dependency. A clear geographic divide remains evident: Romania (18–28%), Ireland (13–25%) and Malta (13–24%) reported the highest levels of problematic use, while the Netherlands (3–7%) and Hungary (3–9%) had the most resilient digital environments. At age 15, the gender gap in digital addiction remains significant across most of Europe, with girls being approximately twice as likely as boys to report symptoms of loss of control and withdrawal. This disparity is particularly striking in the Mediterranean and Anglosphere: in Cyprus and Greece, for example, more than one in five girls report problematic use, compared to around 10% of boys.
Percentage of 15-years old Having Their Own Smartphone by Socio-Economic Status, 2022
This data illustrates the near-universal level of smartphone ownership among 15-year-olds in Europe, emphasising the minimal disparity between socioeconomic groups across Europe. By the age of 15, owning a smartphone has become the norm across Europe, with an average ownership rate of 98%, and minimal disparities between socioeconomic tiers in most member states. In countries such as Poland, Denmark and Ireland, access is almost universal regardless of background, reflecting a shift whereby social disadvantage is no longer defined by a lack of hardware, but by the ability to manage and limit its use. However, significant economic barriers persist on the European Union's periphery. In Turkey, for example, there is still a 23 percentage point gap between low-socioeconomic status (73.4%) and high-socioeconomic status (96.6%) teenagers, indicating that universal access is not yet a global reality.
Percentage of 8-17-Year-Olds Recalled Use of Services in United Kingdom
This data from Ofcom's 2025 Children's Online Safety Tracker illustrate the changing landscape of digital service usage among UK children (aged 8–17) following the introduction of the UK Online Safety Act and Ofcom's Children's Codes. The data reveal a statistically significant shift towards specific, highly engaging platforms, with usage of TikTok (60%) and Snapchat (50%) increasing four months after the new safety duties came into force. In contrast, legacy social media and messaging services, including Instagram (44%), Facebook (41%) and Facebook Messenger (29%), all experienced significant declines.
Percentage of websites and apps with inappropriate content, by type (2025)
This chart illustrates the prevalence of inappropriate and high-risk content identified on 876 children's websites and apps during the 2025 GPEN Sweep. As part of 'Indicator 5' (inappropriate content and high-risk features), researchers assessed how frequently content posed a direct threat to the psychological and physical safety of children and young people. The data reveal that harmful content is systemic across a significant proportion of the digital ecosystem, rather than an isolated occurrence. A significant trend emerges in exposure to peer-related and physical threats: bullying and hateful content, as well as violence, were identified on 15% of all surveyed services. Additionally, the data highlights the prevalence of 'adult-oriented' risks, with 12% of platforms featuring gambling and 11% featuring sexual content. Adding to that is the baseline of severe psychological risks: a combined 20% of services expose children to content related to self-harm (7%), eating disorders (7%), and suicide (6%). These findings suggest that many platforms currently used by children lack the necessary content moderation and safety filters to prevent exposure to high-risk, life-threatening material.
Percentage of websites and apps with unsuitable design features by type of design (2025)
This chart illustrates the prevalence of high-risk design features among 876 digital services analysed in the 2025 GPEN Sweep. The data reveal that 20% of platforms allow children to freely engage with others without adequate friction or oversight, while 15% subject minor users to behavioural profiling. The methodology also reveals a significant barrier to transparency: 15% of services use privacy policies written in language that is likely beyond the comprehension of child users. A notable trend emerges concerning the relationship between business models and child safety. The Sweep found that mobile apps are notably riskier than websites, with an unsuitability rate of 47% compared to 41%. Furthermore, a 'monetisation gap' was identified: free services, which often rely on data-driven advertising, were found to be suitable in only 53% of cases, whereas paid/subscription services showed a higher suitability rate of 61%. Free of fees platforms create incentives for the collection of intrusive data (e.g. 11% geolocation and 12% public-by-default settings) and the use of engagement features.
Perception of Safety and Communication Online
These data from the 2026 EU Kids Online report explore how children perceive their own safety and the social dynamics of the digital environment. The data reveal a significant 'security-literacy gap': while the majority of children (61%) report knowing how to handle negative interactions online, fewer than half (48%) actually feel safe in digital spaces. This suggests that having the technical knowledge of 'what to do' does not necessarily translate into a subjective sense of security. The vast majority of children (76%) do not find other internet users to be kind or helpful, suggesting that a hostile or indifferent social environment is perceived as the norm by three-quarters of European youth. Only 9% of children report discussing personal matters online that they would not talk about face-to-face, and only 23% find it easier to be themselves online.
Preferred information sources for social and political current affairs
This table shows the percentage of people who prefer to get their information about social and political current affairs from the sources listed. TV remains the dominant medium, with 71% of respondents identifying it as a primary source. A significant secondary cluster of sources is closely followed, with nearly equal preference levels: radio (43%), the printed or online press (41%), search engines (40%), social media platforms (40%) and personal networks such as friends and family (40%). Digital-specific and emerging formats are less popular overall, with video platforms cited by 26% of respondents, followed by podcasts (15%) and AI chatbots (9%). Formal institutional sources, such as school teachers or university lecturers, are among the least popular options, with a mere 6% preference. The data indicates a clear hierarchy in which traditional broadcast media still lead, while a broad range of digital and interpersonal sources have consolidated around a 40% share of public preference.
Prevalence of Age Assurance Mechanisms Among Online Services (2024)
Based on 50 digital service instances. Please note that services may employ more than one mechanism, so the totals represent the frequency of use across the sample. This chart illustrates the prevalence and systematic nature of age assurance mechanisms across 50 online services in 2024. The data represent the percentage usage within each category. The data reveal that 'age verification in some cases' (conditional/situational checks) is the most widely used technical strategy. This approach is dominant in the pornography sector (80%) and social media (50%), suggesting that these high-risk areas rely heavily on reactive verification triggers. A significant trend is the continued reliance on the 'honesty box' model: 'Self-declaration only', in fact, remains a primary tool for several sectors, accounting for 66.7% of immersive environments and 50% of both generative AI and 'for kids' services. Additionally, 'age estimation in some cases' serves as a frequent situational layer, particularly for social media (42.9%) and random live video chat (28.6%). The data also highlight the extreme rarity of systematic barriers across the entire user base. 'Age estimation in all cases' is used by only two sectors: Dating (25%) and Gaming (10%). Furthermore, the chart reveals a significant enforcement gap in the App Store category, which has the highest rate of total non-compliance, with 40% of services providing neither age verification mechanisms nor self-declaration prompts. Overall, these findings emphasise that technical interventions are currently used as discretionary filters rather than as universal entry requirements, even in services designed specifically for children or containing high-risk content.
Service Associated with Recalled Exposure to Harmful Content (11-17y)
This chart from the Ofcom Children’s Online Safety Tracker 2025 illustrates the percentage of UK children aged 11–17 who associate specific online services with their exposure to harmful content. The data covers the period before and four months after the introduction of the UK Online Safety Act and Ofcom’s Children’s Codes. These introduced strict 'safety by design' duties, including re-engineering algorithms to prevent 'rabbit holes' of harmful content and removing addictive features for minors. Despite the introduction of these new regulatory duties, recalled exposure to harmful content increased on some platforms. TikTok remains the primary site of exposure, with a 9 percentage point increase to 53%, while Snapchat also saw a rise to 31%. Conversely, Facebook was the only major service to see some decrease in associated harm, falling from 38% to 31%. The data also highlights the prevalence of harm in gaming environments, with Roblox (25%) and Minecraft (13%) emerging as notable sites of concern.
Share of Population Who Had Issues When Using a Website or App of Public Authorities (2022)
This chart shows the percentage of individuals who had issues when using a website or app of public authorities (specifically reporting that the platform was difficult to use) in European Union and Norway. Reported difficulties range from 7.06% in Greece to 39.13% in Spain. This over five-fold difference suggests that the user experience of e-Government services varies widely based on national design standards, the complexity of administrative procedures, and the maturity of digital infrastructure. In a regional context, highly digitised nations such as Norway (34.11%), Finland (23.41%), and France (23.83%) report surprisingly high levels of difficulty, potentially reflecting higher citizen usage of such websites and applications or more complex, multi-functional systems that offer more points of potential failure. Conversely, Baltic and Central European states like Estonia (9.44%) and Poland (7.74%) align with Germany (8.38%) in reporting relatively low user frustration, suggesting more streamlined or accessible digital public interfaces compared to the higher-friction environments observed in Ireland (25.7%) and Luxembourg (20.6%).