Better Internet for Kids

In June 2026, Dignity Online, together with Save the Children Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and with the support of the Government of Sweden (Sida), completed the national study on children's online safety in Ukraine, surveying 5,737 school-age children and parents of 1,076 preschoolers using a methodology adapted from the project EU Kids Online.

The Ukrainian Safer Internet Centre is sharing these findings as it is introduced to the Insafe-INHOPE network: Dignity Online is leading the consortium establishing Ukraine's Safer Internet Centre (DIGISAFE-UA), together with the Government Contact Centre and the Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine. The Centre launches publicly this autumn, with Dignity Online delivering the awareness and youth participation components, and is funded by the European Union under the Digital Europe Programme.

Cyberbullying is one of the clearest findings from the study. More than half of school children (53.9 per cent) experienced cyberbullying over the past year, most often unpleasant or offensive messages (40.4 per cent), exclusion from online groups (34.6 per cent), or offensive messages spread behind their backs (22.9 per cent).  

At the same time, 35.1 per cent admitted to bullying a peer themselves, most often through the same exclusionary behaviours.

This duality – many children are both victims and, at times, perpetrators – is one of the reasons why we see cyberbullying as a behavioural and social issue, not only an online safety one.

For many children, it isn't a one-off incident either: around 15 per cent encounter some form of cyberbullying at least once a week, and a further 31 per cent at least once a month. As the report puts it, cyberbullying in Ukraine is best understood as "a complex problem of digital interaction culture", not only a problem affecting individually harmed children.

The study also points to a broader digital wellbeing picture behind these numbers: 49.6 per cent of schoolchildren say they go to bed later than they'd like because of internet use at least once a week, and 19 per cent report feeling in a low mood after being online as often as they usually are. These findings are one reason Dignity Online is making digital mental health during the war - how time online shapes children's emotional wellbeing - a strategic focus for the year ahead.

There is also a genuinely encouraging trend. In a comparable 2024 study, almost 60 per cent of children aged 10–17 who experienced a risky online situation told no one about it. In the 2026 study, that figure has fallen to 19 per cent. Children most often turn to friends (52.2 per cent) or parents (47.6 per cent) rather than teachers or psychologists (under 6 per cent each) - a reminder that peer networks and family remain the first line of support, and that awareness campaigns should equip them, not bypass them. 

The Ukrainian Safer Internet Centre looks forward to sharing this evidence base, and Ukraine's experience of building online safety education under wartime conditions with the wider community. 

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