Create, Connect and Share Respect Research
For Safer Internet Day 2018, the UK Safer Internet Centre has launched a report into how central technology is to young people’s relationships and the many different platforms they are using to interact with each other.
Digital Friendships: the role of technology in young people’s relationships
For Safer Internet Day 2018, the UK Safer Internet Centre commissioned an online survey of 2000 young people aged 8-17 years, which was conducted by Censuswide.
The findings reveal how central technology is to young people’s relationships and the many different platforms they are using to interact with each other. It also highlights both the positive and negative role that technology can play in young people’s relationships and that whilst they are proactively helping to build a better internet, they also want support from the adults in their lives to do so.
Technology’s role in young people’s friendships
The most popular platforms 8-17 year olds are using to chat to their friends on a daily basis are YouTube (41%), WhatsApp (32%), Snapchat (29%), Instagram (27%) and Facebook or Facebook Messenger (26%)
Changing friendships in a digital world
Young people aged 8-17 are using a variety of methods to express themselves online with emojis being the most popular (84%) followed by slang terms (72%), facial expressions inselfies (70%) and images (63%).
83%
of young people aged 8-17 have experienced people being kind to them online in the last year.
68%
of young people aged 8-17 said that chatting to their friends online cheers them up
89%
of young people aged 8-17 say that they felt happy because of something online.
