About the project
The core of the project is a representative, comparable study carried out in 25 countries, based on interviews with 25 000 children between nine and 16 years, as well as with one of their parents.
Besides comparative investigations of Internet use, EU Kids Online gives recommendations to authorities and other stakeholders about safe Internet use.
The project is also affiliated with the Global Kids Online initiative which looks at similar research questions on a global scale.
Selected publications
EU Kids Online 2020: Survey results from 19 countries
A European study about how children use the Internet in 19 countries.
Read the full report:
The report maps the risks and opportunities associated with European children’s use of the Internet. Teams from the EU Kids Online network collaborated between autumn 2017 and summer 2019 to conduct a major survey of 25,101 children between 9 and 16-years-old in 19 European countries.
The report, published on Safer Internet Day, updates and deepens our understanding of the online lives of children today, and how this differs across Europe.
Norwegian children feel safer online than at home and at school
Time spent online varies between an average of two hours per day (Switzerland) and three-and-a-half hours (Norway). The majority of children in 19 European countries also report using their smartphones ‘daily’ or ‘almost all the time’.
In Norway, children spend more time on the Internet than other European children, 3.6 hours compared with 2.8 hours on average. At the same time, Norwegian feel safer on the Internet than other European children. 42% of Norwegian children aged 9-16 state that they always feel safe online, compared with the European average of 29%.
Most Norwegian children think that other people are kind and helpful on the Internet. The Norwegian research results reveal that more Norwegian children state that they feel safe online, than at home and at school.
Norwegian parents speak least to their children about using the Internet – but share most
21% of Norwegian children state that they have had a negative experience online during the past year. 4% have such experiences at least monthly. This is lower than the average for all countries in the survey.
Professor Elisabeth Staksrud from the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Oslo, who is responsible for the survey, emphasizes the importance of understanding children and adolescents’ use of the Internet in a larger context:
– The Internet reflects both positive and negative aspects of life. Factors beyond the Internet often determine how children and adolescents feel online. Good and safe school and home environments influence how children perceive risks online and how they are equipped to deal with these. One of the most important things for children is that they have someone to talk to who can help them. Unfortunately, teachers and other adults are not often considered to be relevant people to talk to about digital experiences.
Most Norwegian children speak to a friend (50%) rather than a parent (34%) if they experience something negative online. Only 6% speak to a teacher, and 5% to another adult whose job it is to help children. The trend is similar in most of the other countries included in the survey.
One in four Norwegian children and adolescents (aged 9-16) don’t speak to anyone after a negative online experience. Less Norwegian children state that their parents talk to them about using the Internet.
With regard to how parents use the Internet, 36% of Norwegian children state that their parents or guardians share information about them online without obtaining their consent. This is by far the highest of all 19 countries included in the survey.
For more information about the Norwegian survey:
Children's Experiences with Cyberhate
The EU Kids Online network has published a report on European children's experiences with Cyberhate. The report is based on a European survey conducted in 19 countries in 2018.
The report provides an overview of experiences with cyberhate exposure, victimization, and aggression.
It utilizes data from youth, aged 11 to 17, in 10 countries: Norway, the Czech Republic, Finland, Flanders, France, Italy, Lithuania,Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The report is now available online.
The report is written by Hana Machackova, Catherine Blaya, Marie Bedrosova, David Smahel and Elisabeth Staksrud.
The experiences of Norwegian youth (aged 9 to 17) with sexual content online
The EU Kids Online team has published a report on Norwegian adolescents' experiences with sexual content. The report is based on a survey conducted in Norway in 2018.
The report is written by Monica Barbovschi and Elisabeth Staksrud.
The Experiences of Norwegian adolescents with online sexual messages
The EU Kids Online team has published a report on Norwegian adolescents' experiences with sexual messages.
The report is published in connection with the Children's Ombudsman High Level meeting on ensuring safer digital lives for children and adolescents. The report is based on a survey conducted in Norway in 2018.
The report is written by Monica Barbovschi and Elisabeth Staksrud.
EUKids English-Language Summary of Findings 2018
A summary of the main findings of the EU Kids Online survey conducted in Norway in 2018 is now available in English.
The summary of the report written by Professor Elisabeth Staksrud and Kjartan Ólafsson, entitled 'Access, Use, Risks and Opportunities', has been translated to English by Tijana Milosevic.