Evidence Library
Comprehensive data charts, academic papers, and statistical analysis on the impact of social media on children and adolescents.
People who used generative AI tools (2025)
This chart, extracted from the Eurostat publication 'Young people – digital world' in March 2026, illustrates the percentage of individuals who used generative AI tools in the last three months of 2025, comparing the youth demographic (aged 16–29) with the total population. The data reveal a significant 'generational AI divide', with the average for European youth (60%) being almost double that for the general population (32%). A significant regional trend emerges in the rapid adoption of AI across Southern and Eastern Europe. Greece leads the way with an impressive 82% of young people utilising generative AI, closely followed by Estonia (79%) and Portugal (74%). Even in countries with the lowest relative engagement, such as Romania (38%) and Italy (42%), the youth demographic is still far more active than the general public. This trend is also evident in the EEA, where Norway (78%) and Switzerland (76%) have some of the highest youth adoption rates in the dataset.
People who used the internet on a daily basis (2025)
This chart, extracted from the Eurostat publication Young People – Digital World in March 2026, illustrates the percentage of daily internet users in 2025, comparing the youth demographic (aged 16–29) with the total population. The data reveal that daily internet connectivity has reached near-total saturation among European youth, with usage reaching nearly 100% in almost every surveyed nation. A significant regional trend emerges in the 'generational digital gap'. In highly digitised nations such as the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, daily usage is almost identical among young people and the general population. However, in Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as in IPA (candidate) countries, a significant divide remains. In countries such as Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania, young people are virtually 100% online daily, whereas the total population's daily usage remains significantly lower, typically ranging from 80% to 90%.
Percentage of 10-years old Having Their Own Smartphone by Socio-Economic Status, 2021
This data reveals an 'inverse digital divide', showing the varying rates of smartphone ownership among 10-year-olds across Europe. While nearly all 10-year-olds in Northern Europe own a smartphone regardless of background (e.g. over 95 per cent in Finland and Norway), a stark socioeconomic reversal emerges in Western and Southern Europe. In Ireland, Belgium, Spain and France, children from low-SES families are more than twice as likely to own a smartphone as those from high-SES families, whose parents may be more inclined to delay purchase. Conversely, Turkey remains an outlier, with the lowest overall penetration rate, and a traditional divide, whereby high-SES children have significantly greater access (41.8% versus 16.8%). This highlights that early smartphone use is influenced by both national norms and domestic management strategies.
Percentage of 11-year-olds who report problematic social media use
This table shows the percentage of 11-year-olds who experienced 'problematic' (addictive-like) social media use in 2022, broken down by the regions covered by the HBSC survey, including European member states, North America and Central Asia. The 2022 data reveal a significant 'early-onset addiction gap', with an average of 9% of children exhibiting at least six symptoms of digital dependency, such as withdrawal and loss of control, before entering their teens. A sharp regional divide emerges between Eastern and Western Europe: Romania (17–18%) and Bulgaria (14–16%) report the highest levels of early-stage problematic use, while the Netherlands (4–5%) and Switzerland (5%) have the lowest risk profiles in the dataset. Although the global average shows gender parity at 9%, striking gender disparities emerge in the United Kingdom and Mediterranean regions. In England and Malta, nearly one in five 11-year-old girls exhibits addictive behaviours, significantly higher than their male counterparts.
Percentage of 13-year-olds who report problematic social media use
This table shows the percentage of 13-year-olds who experienced 'problematic' (addictive-like) social media use in 2022 across the HBSC survey regions, which include European member states, North America and Central Asia. The 2022 data reveal a sharp increase in digital dependency among children entering their early teens, particularly among girls, where the average prevalence (16%) is almost double that among boys (9%). A pronounced regional risk cluster persists in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, with Romania (21–28%) and Malta (14–28%) reporting the highest levels of problematic use in the dataset. Unlike the 11-year-old cohort, striking gender disparities become the norm at age 13, particularly in Western and Southern Europe. In countries such as England, Ireland and Italy, girls are two to three times more likely than boys to exhibit addictive behaviours. Conversely, the Netherlands (5–8%) and Hungary (5–10%) continue to have the lowest risk profiles, suggesting that national digital cultures and domestic management strategies play a significant role in mitigating these symptoms during the "vulnerability window" of early adolescence.
Percentage of 15-Year-Old Students Using Digital Devices During a Typical Week by Type of Leisure Activity, 2022
This table shows the percentage of 15-year-olds in European countries who engage in various digital leisure and functional activities (namely: create or edit their own digital content, communicate and share digital content on social networks, play video-games, learn how to do something, look for practical information online, browse social networks, browse the Internet - excluding social networks - for fun). Social networking and leisure browsing dominate digital activity among EU 15-year-olds, with participation consistently exceeding 94% across all analysed countries. Content creation shows the greatest variance: countries such as Greece (80.1%) and Latvia (79.1%) significantly outperform the OECD average of 69%, in stark contrast to Ireland's lower rate of 55.4%. Furthermore, approximately 89% of students in Poland and Estonia use the internet for functional purposes, such as learning new skills or seeking practical information. This highlights a notable shift from passive consumption to active, goal-oriented engagement in Central and Southern Europe.
Percentage of 15-Year-Olds Who Can Easily Change Settings of a Device (App) To Protect Their Data and Privacy, by Socio-Economic Status, 2022
Data from the OECD's 'How's Life for Children in the Digital Age?' report, published in 2025, shows that 51% of 15-year-olds can easily manage digital privacy settings, and that this ability is closely linked to socio-economic status (SES). High-SES teenagers consistently report higher technical agency than their low-SES peers, and this divide is evident across all analysed European countries. Ireland demonstrates the highest overall proficiency (64.5%), while Slovakia reports the lowest for low-SES students (33.8%). The socioeconomic gap is particularly acute in Hungary and Greece, where high-SES teenagers outperform their low-SES peers by almost 20 percentage points. This highlights significant inequalities in children's ability to mitigate digital privacy risks based on their socioeconomic status across Europe.
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 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.