Brussels 15/4/14
New findings comparing our surveys of 9-16 year olds in 2010 and 2013 in five European countries show:
- More use of mobile devices to go online
- A slight increase in the percentage who encountered one or more online risks
- Tablet and smart phone users more likely to encounter one or more online risks
- Rise in cyberbullying, especially for girls, though offline bullying is still greater
- Slight rise in exposure to pornography, though rates of sexting are unchanged
- A rise in meetings with strangers offline (but not online)
- A rise in exposure to negative user-generated content (but not data misuse)
- A rise in the percentage who self-report exposure to harmful experiences online, especially among girls and teens
- Qualitative research reveals kids’ struggles to manage their online environments
- Smartphone users have more safety skills but, overall, skills have declined
- Smartphone users need new skills, especially among young girls