Last week, the first report from the research Barn og medier 2020 was published by the Norwegian Media Authority. The first report focuses on children’s and young people’s social media use and what type of content they are exposed to online. According to the results, as much as 90 per cent of Norwegian children between 9 and 18 years old use social media. Among the 9-year-olds, the youngest group that participated in the research, more than 50 per cent are on social media.
The most popular social media platforms among children and young people are Youtube, Snapchat, Tik Tok and Instagram. Youtube is used by 95 per cent of the children between 9 and 18 years old and Snapchat is used by 80 per cent. Tik Tok and Instagram are both used by 65 per cent.
Almost all children and young people use social media to talk to their friends. About 50 per cent get to know new people with the same interests and around 40 per cent share things that they feel are important on social media. The most popular thing to do on social media among children between the ages of 9 and 18 is to “like” something. The second most popular thing is to share, send or make video clips.
Although there are positive sides to children’s media use, it doesn’t come without problems. Over the last year, more than 40 per cent of Norwegian teenagers between 13 and 18 years old have seen frightening or violent content online, and as much as 50 per cent of girls between the ages of 13 and 18 have seen content idealising thinness.
The Norwegian Media Authority works with developing and strengthening critical media understanding among children and young people to prevent problems like cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, and body-related anxiety. According to the Norwegian Media Authority, there is need for a national strategy to achieve the greatest effect from the prevention work. This would mean to coordinate the actions for children’s online safety, that today are performed by several different actors.
Julia Romell