Better Internet for Kids

The way in which people communicate on the internet and the content they are exposed to has a major impact on their well-being, especially for young people. However, a survey carried out in February and March 2022 among primary and secondary school students by Awareness Centre Safe.si showed that the impact of the Internet on girls and boys differs. Girls are more preoccupied with the internet, compare themselves more with others online and are more affected by negative experiences.  

Girls are more preoccupied with the internet than boys 

Many more girls than boys are preoccupied with responding to messages as quickly as possible, and the proportion increases with age. Up to 70 per cent of girls in primary school and 78 per cent of girls in secondary school feel this pressure, compared with 48 per cent and 59 per cent respectively for boys. 

Four-fifths of girls and two-thirds of boys feel overwhelmed by the internet, social networks and mobile phones. No less than 66 per cent of primary school girls and 68 per cent of secondary school girls would like to disconnect from the internet for a while but are afraid of missing out.  

For boys, the figures are 54 per cent and 59 per cent respectively. More girls than boys also feel pressure from society or peers to post details of their lives online. In primary school, 30 per cent of girls feel this pressure, which is felt by only 20 per cent of boys. In secondary school, a good quarter (26 per cent) of girls and almost half as many boys – just 14 per cent - feel this pressure. 

Girls are also more likely than boys to suffer from sleep deprivation due to their use of phones, apps and social networks: more than half of primary school teenage girls (56 per cent), 63 per cent of teenage girls and three-quarters quarters of secondary school girls (75 per cent) reported this in the survey. The proportion of boys who are sleep-deprived is much lower: 37 per cent in primary school, and 45 per cent in secondary school. 

Girls are more affected by both positive and negative experiences online 

The survey shows that girls highly value being part of their social circle and that the opinions of others count for a lot. For example, 60 per cent of primary and 62 per cent of secondary school girls surveyed feel bad if they are excluded from groups of their classmates on social networking or messaging apps. For boys, the proportions are 44 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. 57 per cent of teenage girls and only about a third of teenage boys feel bad if they see pictures online from a party to which they were not invited. 

Similarly, 57 per cent of primary school girls feel bad if someone makes fun of them online. The proportion increases with age: 62 per cent in 9th grade and 63 per cent for girls in secondary school. For boys, this situation only affects a good quarter (26 per cent) of primary school boys and roughly a third (32 per cent) of boys in secondary school.  

If someone comments negatively on their online posts, 44 per cent of primary school teenage girls and 51 per cent of secondary school teenage girls feel bad. For boys, the proportions are more than twice as low for primary school students (18 per cent) and three times as low for secondary school students (17 per cent). Similarly, the gender differences are large if no one likes their post. This makes 39 per cent of teenage girls in primary school and 48 per cent of teenage girls in secondary school feel bad. For boys, the percentages are almost three times lower: only 14 per cent of primary school students and 17 per cent of secondary school students feel bad about it. 

However, if someone compliments their appearance, more than 80 per cent of primary and secondary school teenage girls feel good. For boys in primary school, 62 per cent feel good, and for boys in secondary school 75 per cent feel good. 

The survey  

The results of the survey confirm observations from Safe.si workshops in Slovenian primary and secondary schools in recent years. Because the impact of the internet on girls and boys is so great, a number of materials have been developed to encourage young people to take care of their well-being when using the internet.  

The survey was carried out as part of the activities to mark Safer Internet Day 2022 at the Awareness centre Safe.si, which is part of the Centre for Social Informatics at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. 486 primary school students and 246 secondary school students participated in the survey. 

Find out more about the work of the Slovenian Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services, or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.