They use AI, but they don't know how it works. A great report on what Polish children do online
Young people in Poland aged 10-16 rate their digital skills highly, but in reality they have little knowledge about the mechanisms of the Internet – according to the Polish edition of the EU Kids Online 2026 study. This dispels the myth that for teenagers – who do not know a world without technology – digital skills are a natural feature. What is important, however, is that although they are aware of the risks lurking online, they do not feel the need to learn how to use the Internet safely.
They use AI, but they don't understand it
The study also shows that young people already widely use AI, but most of them admit that they do not know how it will affect their future.
– What characterizes the EU Kids Online study is the fact that it is cyclical and international, carried out in several European countries. It was held in Poland for the third time. This is a scientific study that gives a broad look at children's activity on the Internet, based on knowledge, sometimes
also contradicting commonly accepted opinions – says Anna Kowalik-Mizgalska, president of the Orange Foundation, a partner of the EU Kids Online 2026 report, to the Newseria agency.
– The more we know about this topic, the better we will be able to respond to the needs of children – both as organizations and institutions working for children, but also as parents. We know that a well-conducted diagnosis is the basis for planning and implementing effective solutions.
25 thousand tested
As part of EU Kids Online 2026, 25,000 people were surveyed in Europe. children from 17 countries, in Poland – 1.5 thousand. students aged 10-16. The study was conducted under the supervision of Dr. hab. Jacek Pyżalski, prof. Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Ph.D. hab. Piotr Plichta from the University of Wrocław and Dr. hab. Łukasz Tomczyk from the Jagiellonian University.
One of the conclusions from the study is that young people who face many challenges online usually deal with them on their own. 20 percent of them experienced something disturbing, but did not talk about it with anyone. 30 percent of those who decided to seek help turned to their peers. They chose parents, guardians or teachers less often.
– Young people are exposed to a number of risks. Those that we have identified this year are related to, for example, dangerous, aggressive and pornographic content, but also to risks related to relationships, e.g. electronic aggression, cyberbullying, i.e. peer violence – says Dr. Hab. Jacek Pyżalski, prof. AMU, from the Faculty of Educational Studies of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
Young people exposed to harmful content
– There is no shortage of challenges because young people are exposed not only to the addictive effects of algorithms, but also to very strong exposure to harmful content. What's disturbing is that nine out of 10 respondents saw them on their screens. These include violent content, encouraging self-harm, having a slim figure, erotic content and conspiracy theories. Young people come across them even though they do not look for them themselves – warns the president of the Orange Foundation.
The Polish edition of the study shows that most young respondents declare high confidence in their digital skills. However, the results of knowledge tests conducted among them show something different. They often do not understand the mechanisms of the Internet. Every third of them believes that the first search result on the Internet is always the best source of information. Slightly more than half (51%) are not sure about this.
– This research once again confirms the great myth that young people are digital natives, they can do everything because they grew up with these technologies – points out Prof. Jacek Pyżalski. – Many people answer “I don't know” to questions that concern very basic skills and basic knowledge related to the Internet.
Natural digital competences of the young generation?
– This clearly indicates that Merely growing up in a digital environment does not automatically lead to the acquisition of digital skills. The common belief that the young generation has natural competences is not confirmed by research and should be the subject of further education, says Anna Kowalik-Mizgalska.
New in this year's study were questions about the use of generative artificial intelligence. 80% of people used such tools in the month preceding the survey. respondents. They treat artificial intelligence as an ad hoc tool for activities such as writing and summarizing school texts, advising on what to watch, listen to or buy. They use them less often to generate images.
– We have a lot of young people, especially girls, who use this type of tools to seek advice on various personal matters. This carries many different risks. We know from other research that these tools are not entirely ethical in their responses and do not fully provide correct information. So we have a lot of threats related to what will happen when young people put into practice the advice they receive from artificial intelligence – emphasizes Prof. AMU.
Unsure about AI
65 percent When asked how artificial intelligence will affect their future lives in the next 10 years, young people answered that they did not know or had no opinion on the subject.
– Young people are much more skeptical than you might expect. We might assume they would say: AI will only bring good things. However, it turns out that only every ninth respondent is convinced of this. So we see that great uncertainty related to technologies also affects young people. The same people who are commonly treated as supporters, convinced that technologies will bring something good – emphasizes prof. Jacek Pyżalski.
Polish youth declare that they use the Internet mainly for communication and entertainment activities, most often to talk to friends (49.1%) and listen to music (41.5%). Almost 30 percent watches videos on social media, and 21.2 percent – videos and series on streaming platforms or YouTube. Young people are less likely to go online to learn, create their own content or look for health information.
– A positive conclusion from the study is that most young people are not naive about the Internet. We often think that they believe what they see in him. However, we have a very low percentage of young people who believe that everyone on the Internet is always friendly and nothing bad will happen to them. Rather, we notice that young people are quite aware of the risks – emphasizes Prof. AMU.
At the same time, however, respondents are not willing to learn how to use the Internet.
– When we ask whether they want to learn, for example, how to communicate safely with someone online, even 60-70 percent do. he replies: “I don't want to, because I feel like I already know everything I need to know about it.” So we see that young people experience a lot of negative things, but at the same time many of them are convinced that they do not have to do anything about it – emphasizes the co-author of the study. – This is a big challenge for all people who are thinking about designing various types of media education programs and how to encourage and motivate young people to participate in them.
