Young people - digital world

Data extracted in June 2023.

Planned article update: 29 May 2024.

Highlights

In 2022, 96 % of young people in the EU made daily use of the internet, compared with 84 % for the whole population.

Between 2019 and 2022, the share of young people in the EU who did an online course more than doubled, from 13 % to 28 %.

Young people's internet use in the EU, selected indicators, 2014-2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_ci_ac_i

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become an integral part of people’s everyday lives. A large proportion of the population of the European Union (EU), including young people, use the internet to perform a variety of activities in the framework of their work, education, leisure, administration and other domains. In 2022, a high proportion of young people in the EU continued to make use of the internet for a range of activities that take up an increasing share of their daily lives.

Full article

A digital age gap

96 % of young people in the EU use the internet daily

In 2022, 96 % of young people aged 16-29 years in the EU reported using the internet every day compared to 84 % of the adult population. In all EU Member States, the EFTA countries and the EU candidate countries the share of the young people using the internet daily was between 94 % and 100 %.

While young people reported remarkably high shares of daily internet use in every country, Figure 1 shows that there is a much greater variation among adult users. On average, in the EU, the difference between the share of young people and adults using the internet every day is 12 percentage points (pp). There is however a decreasing trend in this gap: in 2021, the difference was 15 pp. The difference reached 21 pp in Croatia and Greece, 19 pp in Portugal and Bulgaria and 18 pp in Poland and in Romania. On the other hand, there is very little difference between the internet use of young people and the population as a whole in the Netherlands, Sweden (both 2 pp), Denmark and Finland (5 pp).

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries have high rates of internet use (above 90 %) for both the adult population and for young people with a rather small difference between the two groups, only 1 pp in Iceland, 3 pp in Norway and 7 pp in Switzerland. In EU candidate countries, the share of young people using the internet is also at least 94 %, reaching 100 % in Serbia. The difference compared to the adult population is greatest in Bosnia and Herzegovina (28 pp).

Figure 1: People who used the internet on a daily basis, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_ci_ifp_fu

Most significant digital age gap for social networking

Among the internet based activities analysed, in 2022 participation in social networks was the most widespread among young people. Creating a user profile and posting messages or other activity was common practice for at least 70 % of youth (in France), and up to 98 % (in Ireland) and averaging 84 % for the EU as a whole. In Figure 2, we can see more detailed information by EU Member State concerning participation in social networking in 2022. In 18 of the Member States, at least 9 out of 10 young people used social networking sites, while a further 6 Member States reported that 80-89 % of young people participated in these kind of networking activities. The participation of the adult population ranged between 44 % (in France) to 85 % (in Denmark).

Across the EU, young people were much more likely to participate in social networking activities online than the adult population. In fact, among the activities analysed in this article, the difference between the proportion of young people and that of the adult population engaged in online activities was largest for participation in social networks. This pattern was observed at EU level where the difference was 25 pp and also in the Member States, with the gap reaching 32 pp in Czechia, Croatia and Austria.

Each of the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries and EU candidate countries had a larger share of people using social networking sites than the EU average, both for the adult population and for young people. In Albania and Serbia, the ’digital age gap’ was higher than the EU average (33 and 27 pp, respectively).

Figure 2: People who participated on social networking sites, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_ci_ac_i

Youth online: a way of life

Discrepancies between Member States regarding civic or political participation via the internet

In 2022, young people aged 16 to 29 years were, on average, more likely to express their opinion or take part in voting to define civic or political issues via the internet than the adult population. Regarding participation in social networks young people have a 25 pp advantage compared to the adult population, in the case of civic or political participation the corresponding gap was 6 pp.

In 2022, the civic or political participation online of young people was highest in Slovenia (46 %), Italy (37 %) and Malta (36 %). By contrast, the lowest shares were observed in Germany and Czechia (both at 13 %), as well as Cyprus (15 %), Sweden (18 %) and Belgium (19 %). In all Member States except Ireland, young people were more likely to use the internet for civic or political participation purposes than the total population. The largest differences were recorded in Slovenia (19 pp), Lithuania (12 pp) and Latvia (11 pp). In Ireland, the participation of the adult population was slightly higher than that of the youth, namely with 1 pp (24 % of young people interacting with public authorities vs 25 % of the adult population).

Among EFTA countries, Iceland had high shares of online civic or political participation (more than double the EU average for the adult population). In Norway, the share of the adult population participating was 5 pp more than for young people. Among the candidate countries, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia had participation rates above the EU average for both young people and the adult population. All other candidate countries were below the EU average.

Figure 3: People who used the internet for civic or political participation, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_ci_ac_i

Online education on the rise

As a clear example of how the internet and the related digital skills influence our lives, we can increasingly witness activities linked to education moving online.

In 2022, 55 % of young people aged 16-29 years in Finland and the Netherlands made use of the internet for following an educational course. The lowest share was 11 % (in Poland and Romania). On average, in the EU 28 % of young people and 16 % of the adult population used the internet for following an online course (see Figure 4).

In all EU Member States, the young population is more likely to follow an online course than the rest of the population, the gaps being as large as 24 pp in Finland and Greece, 22 pp in Bulgaria and 21 pp in Cyprus. By contrast, there is no gap between the age groups in Sweden, and only a small one in Denmark, Poland (2 pp), Luxembourg and Croatia (3 pp).

Figure 4: People who used the internet for doing an online course, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_ci_ac_i

Verifying sources

Although the internet can provide a place for people to share their experiences and to exchange their views, there are also risks. It is equally important to address safety concerns and to enable young people to analyse, compare and critically evaluate the credibility and reliability of sources of data, information and digital content.

Despite the high number of young people using the internet, only 36 %, at EU level, engaged in activities related to fact-checking online information and its sources in 2021 (the latest year for which data are available). Only in five countries, was the share of young people who assess the truthfulness of the internet content above 50 % (the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Finland and Sweden). The lowest shares were recorded in Bulgaria (24 %), Lithuania (22 %), Romania (21 %) and Cyprus (18 %).

However, young people were, on average 10 % more likely than the adult population to fact-check the information or content found on the internet. The gap reached 19 pp in Croatia and 18 pp in Ireland. There was no EU Member State, EFTA country or candidate country where young people were less likely to verify their sources that the adult population. In Cyprus and Montenegro there was no difference between age groups.

The share of young people and adult population fact checking their internet sources was higher than the EU average in Norway and Iceland. The rates in candidate countries were below the EU average.

Figure 5: Percentage of individuals who have verified the information or content found on internet, 2021 order by young people aged 16-29 years
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_sk_edic_i21

Dynamics over time

How did the use of internet for everyday activities change over time?

In 2022, 84 % of young people aged 16-29 used the internet to participate in social media networks in the EU. However, this is not much higher than the 81 % measured in 2014, nor much lower than the 85 % peak measured in 2018 and 2020. Amongst the activities analysed, this is the most popular use of the internet for young people since 2014, with data varying slightly but remaining at high levels. Other uses show a greater variation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most activities saw an increase, most notably when it comes to using the internet for online courses, which jumped from 13 % in 2019 to 35 % in 2021. However, in 2022, that percentage decreased to 28 % (-7 pp), which is still more than double than in 2019.

The use of internet for banking has been consistently increasing since 2014 (45 % of young people) reaching 64 % in 2022. Reading news online peaked in 2020 (73 %) and has since then lost the momentum as the percentage of young people reading online decreased by 5 pp compared to that peak.

In 2022, only 23 % of young people used the internet for civic or political participation, an activity that has registered a 4 % increase since 2015, and a slight decrease of 1 pp from the 2021 level.

Figure 6: Young people's internet use in the EU, selected indicators, 2014-2022 (%)
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_ci_ac_i

Digital skills

Information and communications technology (ICT) skills are regarded as being essential to benefit from and contribute to a knowledge-based economy and society. By the time young people in the EU leave compulsory education, most of them have regularly made use of computers and the internet for a variety of activities. In this context, it is important that young people become empowered and responsible digital users, equipped with appropriate digital skills.

Map 1 highlights the share of young people between the age of 16 and 29 reporting basic or above basic overall digital skills in 2021. Country shares range from 93 % in Finland, 92 % in Malta, 89 % in Croatia and 87 % in Greece and the Netherlands to 49 % and 46 % in Bulgaria and Romania, respectively. The EU average stands at 71 %.

Map 1: Digital skills of young Europeans: Share of young people (16-29) with basic or above digital skills, 2021

In 2021, at EU level there was no major difference based on sex in the digital skills reported by young people. However, if we look at Member State level the situation is diverse: in nine countries, the share of young females with at least basic digital skill is at least 5 pp more than the corresponding share of young male. The largest gap in favour of young females was registered in Croatia where 94 % of young females compared with only 84 % of young males have at least basic digital skills. The opposite situation can be seen in four other Member States where the share of young males with at least basic digital skills is higher by more than 5 pp (Luxembourg, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia).

For EFTA countries the shares of the digital skills between young males and young females are close, while a larger advantage can be seen for young males in Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Figure 7: Young people with at least basic digital skills by gender, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_sk_dskl_i21

Overall, digital skills refer to five areas: information and data literacy skills, communication and collaboration skills, digital content creation skills, safety skills and problem-solving skills. To have at least basic overall digital skills, people must know how to do at least one activity related to each area.

Taking examples from these domains, some of the activities used to measure digital skills are analysed in more detail below (further information on the types of activities related to each skill is available in the metadata file). Notably:

Participating in social networks (communication and collaboration);
Writing code in a programming language (digital content creation);
Using the internet for civic or political participation (communication and collaboration);
Using the internet for doing an online course (problem solving).

The share of young people who had written computer-programming code was twice as high as the share for the whole adult population

In 2021, almost four fifths (76 %) of all young people aged 16-29 years in the EU reported that they had (at any time in the past) performed basic computer tasks such as copying or moving a file or a folder, while slightly lower shares had downloaded or installed software or applications (70 %).

More technical competences, such as writing code in a programming language, were much less widespread, as just 13 % of young people in the EU reported that they had ever carried out such an activity, although this was more than double the 6 % share that was recorded for the adult population.

Figure 8 shows the differences between males and females. At EU level, 17 % of males and 8 % of females have written code in a programming language. When it comes to females Denmark takes the lead with 17 % of them having done some coding, followed by Malta (13 %) and the Netherlands (12 %). The lowest share of female code writers was recorded in Bulgaria and Romania (both 2 %). The highest share of males writing code in a programming language was observed in Austria at 31 %, followed by Sweden (27 %) and Luxembourg (26 %). In contrast, three countries recorded less than 10 % of males in that category, namely Cyprus (6 %), Romania (3 %) and Bulgaria (2 %).

As regards EFTA countries, each of these is at least at EU average level when it comes to the share of individuals who have written code in a programming language. This is the case for both young males and young females. By contrast, the situation is quite different for the candidate countries. The countries reaching the EU average are Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina for young females (8 %). Albania has the highest share of young males coding in a programming language (17 %) amongst the candidate countries.

Figure 8 Individuals who wrote code in a programming language, 2021 order by young males (%)
(%)
Source: Eurostat isoc_sk_cskl_i21

Conclusions: what future for young people in the digital world?

This article has shown that the use of ICT is widespread among young people and is, in some instances, reaching saturation. Young people make use of the internet more commonly than the adult population as a whole and it seems likely that this pattern will continue.

The challenge for policymakers within this domain will be to ensure that the social and economic benefits from exploiting ICT is delivered in unison with the safe use of digital media, in particular for more vulnerable sections of society.

Source data for tables and graphs

Being young in Europe today - digital world: tables and figures

Data sources

The data presented in this article come from Eurostat’s survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals, which is updated on an annual basis to ensure that the data collected remain relevant. While the questions and areas of interest for the surveys change each year to reflect modern ICT use, there is a core section of the survey which aims to provide stable and continued data collection for several key indicators thereby making analyses over time possible. ICT surveys initially concentrated on access and internet connectivity issues, but their scope has subsequently been extended to cover a variety of subjects, including for example internet security or the use of social media and cloud services. The results of the survey can be studied according to a range of socioeconomic categories, including sex, age, educational differences or whether there are children or not in a household. In most EU Member States, the surveys are carried out in the second quarter of each year asking about activities in the first quarter of the same year; sometimes questions (for example, on e-commerce or e-government) are asked about activities during the previous 12 months.

ICT surveys cover households having at least one member in the age group 16-74 years. Households with children are those with at least one member aged less than 16 years. Within this article statistics that refer to the whole adult population cover those aged 16-74 years while young people is a collective term used to describe the subpopulation of people aged 16-29 years.

Context

A EUROPE FIT FOR THE DIGITAL AGE

In her agenda for Europe, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, outlined a set of priorities for the period 2019-2024. In February 2020, the European Commission adopted a Communication on Shaping Europe’s digital future (COM(2020) 67 final), which highlights the opportunities that exist around developing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and 5G networks, or exploiting a wealth of potential information from big data. Alongside encouraging businesses to develop these new technologies, the strategy also ensures that any new developments are made while ensuring the trust of European citizens (trustworthy technologies, fostering an open and democratic society, enabling a vibrant and sustainable economy, helping to combat climate change and promote a green transition).

Digital skills indicators are some of the key performance indicators in the context of the Digital Decade, which sets out the EU’s vision for digital transformation. The Digital Compass sets out an aim for 80% of EU citizens aged 16-74 years old to have at least basic digital skills by 2030.

BETTER INTERNET FOR OUR CHILDREN

As well as providing opportunities for work, study, leisure activities and social interaction, the internet contains hazards for all users. The basis of the European Commission’s Communication European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children (COM(2012) 196 final) is to protect children and to make children and young people more aware of the risks involved with using the internet, while teaching digital literacy so that children may benefit fully and safely from being online. The strategy, which was adopted in May 2012, was based around four pillars: stimulate quality content online for young people; step up awareness and empowerment; create a safe environment for children online and fight against child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation.

INSAFE, INHOPE AND SAFER INTERNET

Insafe and Inhope are European networks, co-funded by the EU, made up of national Safer internet centres. The national centres implement awareness and educational campaigns, run helplines and work closely with young people to ensure an evidence-based, multi-stakeholder approach to creating a better internet.

On 6 February 2018, the EU launched a range of new initiatives under the heading of Safer internet day. They were designed to ensure that children, young people, parents, teachers and other EU citizens become empowered and responsible digital users. The web portal for this initiative (https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/web/portal/home) provides access to a wealth of information including an online course on child safety with teaching resources for topics such as fake news, cyberbullying and radicalisation.

CYBERBULLYING

One of the issues related to the safety of the internet for children is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is regarded as a serious threat with a potentially long-lasting impact. Repeated verbal or psychological harassment may come from an individual or a group and may involve, for example, mockery, insults, threats, rumours or gossip. E-mail, mobile phones and web services such as social networks, chat rooms and instant messaging provide opportunities for cyberbullying. More information is available from the European platform for investing in children.