The majority of children in Ireland think that it would be better to teach them about staying safe online rather than banning them from using social media. Meanwhile almost half of parents/caregivers also favour online safety education over a social media ban. These are just some of the key findings contained in a research report (PDF) being published today (10.09.2026) by Coimisiún na Meán.
The report also found that parents and caregivers were more likely to agree (43%) than disagree (23%) that a ban wouldn’t be effective as children would circumvent it. When children were asked the same question, the majority agreed that a social media ban wouldn’t work because children would find a way to get around it.
‘Online Safety & Children’s Digital Lives‘ is the Irish country research report compiled by Coimisiún na Meán which examines two national surveys, one of children and the other of their parents/caregivers and is part of the wider EU Kids Online survey. The comparative report of the findings from all of the EU Kids Online participating countries will be published later this week. The EU Kids Online study is part of the “Global Kids Online Study”, which comprises of a global survey, and an international network of academics, social researchers and experts dedicated to studying children’s rights, risks and opportunities in the digital age.
Speaking today, Jeremy Godfrey, Executive Chairperson at Coimisiún na Meán said: “This report provides important evidence on how children and young people in Ireland feel about their experiences of the internet. Crucially, this study allowed us to hear directly from children and young people and their parents/caregivers about their experiences and attitudes. The findings in this research will support evidence-based policy development, programme design and decision-making that deliver positive outcomes for children and young people.
Coimisiún na Meán is proud to be part of the EU Kids Online study, enabling comparison of the online experiences of children and young people in Ireland with those of children and young people in over 20 countries across Europe.
We all agree that children deserve a safe online environment that supports their development in a variety of ways, in line with their age and evolving capacities. Our participation in the study is a clear demonstration of our commitment to ensure that audiences, especially children, can benefit from the positive aspects of media, while also being protected from potential harms.”
Key findings from our ‘Online Safety & Children’s Digital Lives’ include:
Attitudes towards online safety
- 69% of children surveyed agreed it would be better to teach children about staying safe online rather than a social media ban.
- Most children surveyed (67%) did not think that a social media ban would be effective as children would find a way to get around it.
- Half of parents/caregivers agreed that it would be better to teach children about online safety rather than banning access to social media (49% agreed; 21% disagreed).
- Parents/caregivers were almost twice as likely to agree than disagree that a ban wouldn’t be effective as children would circumvent it (43% agreed; 23% disagreed).
- A majority of parents/caregivers agreed that no social media would have positive impacts on their child’s focus on schoolwork (64% agreed; 18% disagreed), online safety (63% agreed; 12% disagreed), and mental health (67% agreed; 12% disagreed).
Practices
- 60% of children and young people, aged 9-17 years, said that they have a social media account. This rises from a quarter of 9–11-year-olds to 90% of 16–17-year-olds.
Media literacy – including knowledge and digital skills
- Children reported greater confidence in some security and trust awareness competencies than others, with confidence in these competencies increasing with age.
- Around three-quarters (73%) said they knew how to protect a device.
- Fewer than half (46%) said they knew how to figure out whether a website could be trusted, while around one-third (33%) said they knew how to use private browsing. The findings indicate that many children remain uncertain about how online information and content are prioritised, with confidence in information navigation competencies increased steadily with age. Differences by gender, socio-economic status and disability were generally modest.
- Around two-thirds (67%) correctly recognised that whether someone likes or shares a post can have a negative impact on others.
- Around half correctly identified that not everyone receives the same search results online (48%) and that using hashtags increases the visibility of a post (51%).
- Fewer children correctly recognised that the first search result is not always the best source of information (39%) or that the first post shown on social media is not necessarily the most recent post shared by one of their contacts (32%).
Risks and online activities
- A significant proportion of children reported having had negative online experiences in the past year. 33% of children overall, and almost half (46%) of 16–17-year-olds had felt upset about something they had experienced online at least once in the past year while 3% reported experiencing something online that upset them frequently (at least weekly or more often in the past year).
- Age was the strongest factor associated with feeling upset by something experienced online. There was little variation by social class. However, children with disabilities were more likely to report negative online experiences. Half (50%) said they had felt upset by something online, compared with 33% of children overall. They were also more than three times as likely to report feeling upset by something online frequently (7% compared with 2% of those without disabilities).
- Online aggression and cyberbullying affected a minority of children in the past year. Face-to-face aggression was reported more often than online aggression. 20% of children said they had been treated in a hurtful or nasty way face-to-face and 12% said it happened online.
- Receiving sexual messages was relatively uncommon among children (9% reported receiving a sexual message at least once), particularly at younger ages (90% of children aged 9-13 said they had never received a sexual message). However, reports of receiving sexual messages became more common during adolescence, with children aged 16–17 substantially more likely (20%) than younger age groups (2% of children aged 9-11 and 6% of children aged 12-13) to report having received a sexual message.