This report, published on Safer Internet Day, shows that time spent online varies between an average of two hours per day (Switzerland) and three-and-a-half hours (Norway). The report, EU Kids Online 2020: Survey Results from 19 Countries, 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.
Norwegian children feel safer online than at home and at school
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%) and 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.