These are some of the key findings in a major new report from EU Kids Online, launched today (10 September 2026) at the Irish EU Presidency Conference on Online Safety for Children and Young People, at Dublin Castle.
Drawing on a survey of 28,465 children aged 10 to 16 across Europe, researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the University of Oslo, the University of Ljubljana, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and the University of Akureyri find that smartphones are now central to young people's daily lives with children's digital experiences evolving faster than policy can keep pace.
For the report, EU Kids Online, a multinational research network, founded at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and now co-ordinated by the University of Oslo, surveyed children in 19 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czechia, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia) about their online activities and experiences.
Internet access
The researchers found smartphones are by far the main device children use to access the internet. Across the 19 countries surveyed, 87 per cent of children use a smartphone or mobile phone to go online every day.
Girls report more frequent smartphone access than boys overall. Across the countries, 61 per cent of girls compared with 55 per cent of boys use a smartphone to go online several times each day.
AI developments
AI is quickly becoming an integral part of children’s everyday lives. Across Europe, around two-thirds of children report using AI tools regularly, with many seeing them as valuable for learning, innovation and efficiency. For example, 37 per cent of the children surveyed hope AI will boost human creativity.
"When we look at individual countries, the Czech data stands out: compared to other European countries where the prevalence was a bit lower, all surveyed Czech children reported having at least some experience with generative AI, mostly for help with schoolwork but also for recommendations on what to do. This shows that for young people, these tools are no longer something distant or experimental, but are becoming an ordinary part of their everyday internet use," says Dr Marie Jaron Bedrosova from the EU Kids Online Czech team and the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society, Masaryk University.
In addition, a third say they are confident new technologies will free students and workers from spending time on boring activities.
However, others are concerned about the future of AI. Specifically, 41 per cent of those surveyed expressed concern that AI-based technologies damage the environment and consume too much natural resources and that AI may surpass human intelligence in a way that makes it impossible for humans to maintain control over it.
Worries about the environmental impact of AI range from 57 per cent in Ireland to 31 per cent in Finland and Switzerland. Similarly, the preoccupation that AI might surpass human intelligence and evade our control is highest in Ireland (55 per cent) while lowest in Belgium.
Privacy
Children are using digital technologies more frequently, but they are also wary about how their data is collected and used.
Half worry their personal information is being used for targeted advertising, and four in ten fear companies share their data with third parties without their consent.
There is some suspicion of tech firms - 39 per cent do not believe companies keep their online behaviour and preferences safe. On the other hand, 30 per cent say they trust companies to protect their privacy.
Concerns also extend to how data is used by authorities and institutions. More than a quarter of children worry information collected by apps and websites could influence police decisions about who to search or arrest, while only one in five support the use of data, algorithms and AI to predict outcomes such as school admissions or future job prospects.
Hateful messages and harmful content
Exposure to harmful content is a significant feature of children’s online experiences, with 30 per cent of children encountering hateful messages at least every month. However, this exposure does vary quite significantly across countries – with at least monthly exposure ranging from 15 per cent in Ireland to 40 per cent in Serbia.
Girls report greater exposure than boys overall with 60 per cent of girls and 55 per cent of boys having encountered hateful messages across the countries.
“While some children report that seeing hateful messages doesn't affect them, most say they feel upset by what they see. Both reactions are deeply concerning: while distress represents an emotional burden, indifference leads to dangerous desensitisation and normalisation of hatred. We should therefore talk to young people about why such behaviour is problematic and how it can harm victims, while strengthening their ability to cope with these situations. At the same time, systematic support is essential from the platforms themselves, which must ensure more effective suppression of the spread of hateful content and offer children safer and more understandable tools for reporting it,” says Jaron Bedrosova.
Children also report encountering a range of potentially harmful online content. Across the 19 countries, gory or violent images are the most commonly reported category (40 per cent), followed by content about ways to be very thin (39 per cent) and ways of physically harming or hurting oneself (37 per cent). Content about suicide is the least commonly reported of the categories analysed (25 per cent).
Looking specifically at content about ways of physically harming or hurting oneself, 15 per cent of children report seeing such content at least every month and a further 24 per cent have seen it a few times. At least monthly exposure ranges from 6 per cent in Ireland to 24 per cent in Belgium and the Czech Republic.
Taken together, these expectations, worries and hopes suggest priorities for policymakers: from minimising the environmental costs of AI to ensuring human oversight in every algorithmic and AI process, to ensuring that safer, more private and empowering digital spaces and technologies are designed.
Country variance
While several patterns have emerged across Europe, the report also highlights disparities in children's digital experiences across countries. The researchers argue that these variations underline the fact there is no single 'European digital childhood' and that policymakers should avoid one-size-fits-all solutions when designing online safety measures.
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You can read the full comparative EUKO report here: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5561363
If you are interested in findings from the Czech Republic, see also Czech national report and report on generative AI use.
