in France, children are online more every year. Indeed, with around 99 percent of those aged 12-17 having
. In 2020, approximately 85 percent of children
.
Internet activities and usage frequency
For children, the internet is mainly used for
browsing online, watching movies or playing games. For
online shopping, children aged 12 to 17 contributed significantly to end-of year e-commerce sales, even more so than French seniors aged over 60. With social media playing an important part in communication
across all generations, the majority of
children registered on at least one social media platform were 14 years old. The most popular social networking site among French children was
Instagram with a 86 percent adoption rate. Young girls
mostly posted messages and pictures about themselves and their families on social media. A significant share of boys also mentioned
sharing their passions and hobbies. Having less than 50
followers on their main social media account, the possible stranger danger encountered on those platforms seems low. However, when it comes to playing online games, the probability of
meeting people they don't know in real life is higher.
Dangers of the internet and parental control measures
With the present fear of being
intimidated online , some children have encountered
violent or pornographic content when browsing on the internet. Having been
harassed on social media, some children
became the harasser. Most are aware that their
online actions can have an impact on the virtual and real life of the victims and perpetrators, and think that offensive content should be
regulated more. This goes in line with the majority of adults, who think that the age limit on
websites with pornographic content should be under 18. They also regarded
default parental control measures set by the French President in 2019 as essential.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
