More than 40% of adolescents across Europe believe they spend too much time in front of screens, a new Eurobarometer survey on screen and social media use among teenagers has found.
The research, conducted between March and April 2026, examined the experiences of adolescents aged 13 to 18 and their parents across EU member states. It found that young people spend an average of 4.5 hours a day on screens during school days and 6.1 hours a day at weekends.
Notably, those that started using social media at a younger age – before the age of 10 – spend even more time on screens: an average of 7.5 hours a day at weekends, compared with 5.7 hours among those who began using social media after the age of 14.
More than half of parents said that screens have a negative impact on young people’s lives, while 36% reported that social media negatively affects their child’s mental wellbeing. At the same time, however, the study also found that parents consistently underestimate the amount of time their children spend on screens.
Positive experiences
Despite these concerns, many adolescents reported positive experiences online, with close to half (48%) saying that social media has had a positive effect on their mental wellbeing.
At the same time, close to one-third of respondents said they had experienced feelings of stress, sadness or social exclusion as a result of social media. Comparing themselves with others and fear of missing out were identified as common sources of pressure.
‘48% of adolescents report that social media has a positive impact on their mental wellbeing with their main motivation focussing on entertainment (57%), contact with friends or family (53%), feeling of connection with others (70%), and learning opportunities (65%),’ Eurobarometer noted. ‘At the same time, nearly one in three adolescents explicitly report feeling stressed, sad or socially excluded because of social media. Additional pressures were identified that can affect wellbeing, including comparing oneself to others (45%) and fear of missing out (41%).’
Problem content
Many adolescents also said that they regularly encounter problematic content online, with around one quarter reported exposure to hate speech, promotion of unhealthy products or content creating pressure around appearance and consumer behaviour.
AI-generated content was identified by around two fifths (39%) of respondents as a concern, while 35% reported encountering false or misleading information.
One takeaway from the survey was that both younger and older generations believe that platform rules should be better implemented, to limit the potential harm caused from social media.
‘Adolescents and parents concur that the action that would help most to improve adolescent mental wellbeing online is better implementation of existing platform rules, mentioned by 48% of adolescents and 47% of parents,’ Eurobarometer said.
Other frequently mentioned solutions included education programmes in schools, information campaigns and increased support for parents.
More than 40% of adolescents also said improved access to mental health support would help strengthen wellbeing in the online environment. Read more here.
