A survey commissioned by the European Commission and published Wednesday on screen time and social media use among children and adolescents, found that 36% of young people in Hungary and 44% across Europe feel they spend “too much” time in front of screens.
The report shows that European teenagers spend an average of 4.5 hours online on school days, rising to 6.1 hours on weekends. Screen time is even higher among those who began using social media early: children who started before age 10 spend around 7.5 hours in front of screens on weekends, compared with 5.7 hours for those who only joined after turning 14.
Data from the Eurobarometer survey published Wednesday shows that more than 40% of adolescents aged 13–18 believe they spend “too much time” in front of a screen.
Nearly one-third of adolescents feel stressed, sad, or socially excluded because of social media. 45% of the adolescents surveyed admitted that they tend to compare themselves to others while using social media, and a quarter have encountered “problematic” online content, including hate speech (25%).
48% of adolescents reported that social media has a positive impact on their mental well-being. Their main motivations are entertainment (57%), staying in touch with friends or family (53 percent), and learning opportunities (65%).
Screen and social media use among adolescents and children in Hungary and the European Union (2026). Parents’ opinions on their children’s screen and social media use. “Overall, how would you assess how much time your child spends each day in front of a screen or on social media?” (in percent) – too much, about right, too little, I do not know. Chart: European Commission, Eurobarometer/Nemzeti Archívum/MTI
Ninety-two percent of the parents surveyed consider strengthening the online protection of children and young people to be a top political priority.
In Europe, 39% of parents believe their children spend too much time on social media platforms; among the Hungarian parents surveyed, this figure is 29%.
Thirty-two percent of European parents, including twenty-four percent of Hungarian parents, expressed concern about the risk of their children being exposed to harmful or inappropriate content online. On average in Europe, 19% of parents—and 8% in Hungary—believe that screen time has a negative impact on their children’s sleep; furthermore, 20% of parents on average across the EU—and 12% in Hungary—believe that screen time has a negative impact on their children’s school performance.
Thirty-one percent of European parents, including twenty-three percent of Hungarian parents, are concerned that strangers are contacting their children on social media platforms.
Photo: Pexels
Four percent of European parents—including three percent of Hungarian parents—believe screen time has a positive impact on their children’s lives, while forty-one percent and thirty-five percent, respectively, believe it has a mostly negative impact.
When it comes to children’s mental well-being, mood, stress levels, or self-esteem, five percent of European parents—including five percent of Hungarian parents—believe that social media use has a positive impact, while twenty-nine percent and eighteen percent, respectively, believe it has a negative impact.
Thirty-nine percent of Hungarian parents reported that their child had encountered false or misleading online content in the past three months.
The survey reveals that 27% said their children encountered hate speech, 26% said they encountered content promoting gambling, 24% said they encountered content generated by artificial intelligence that was difficult to recognize, and 24% said their children encountered advertisements for alcohol or unhealthy foods on online platforms.
The survey found that 30% of Hungarian parents restrict their children’s use of online media; 32% encourage their children to take breaks from social media; and 24% have reported false or harmful content, or service providers disseminating such content. Eighteen percent of Hungarian parents reported that they have banned their children from using social media or deleted such services from their children’s electronic devices.
Via MTI, Featured image: Pexels
