A recent Medietilsynet survey reveals widespread exposure among Norwegian teenagers to harmful online material, highlighting gender differences, rising risk levels, and concerns over parental oversight in the digital age.
A new Medietilsynet survey suggests that most Norwegian teenagers have already encountered harmful material online, even as many say they know how to respond when they see it. The Barn og medier 2026 study found that 72% of teenagers had come across content they regarded as harmful, including material about becoming very thin, violent or frightening images, and drug sales. The report was carried out by Verian and included 1,800 respondents aged 9 to 18.
The figures point to a broad pattern of exposure. Among the teenagers surveyed, 50% said they had seen content about becoming extremely thin, 36% had seen frightening or violent material and 30% had come across drug-related content. Medietilsynet has also separately highlighted that more than half of 13- to 18-year-olds have seen violent images or videos online in the past year, alongside widespread exposure to hate messages and content linked to fighting, underscoring how common aggressive material has become on digital platforms.
At the same time, many young people appear to know the basic safety tools available to them. Medietilsynet said 91% of teenagers know how to report content and 80% have blocked someone. That awareness, however, sits alongside a more troubling picture of everyday exposure and repeated contact with material that can be damaging, particularly for girls. Medietilsynet’s other findings have shown clear gender gaps in what young people see online, with girls more likely to encounter thinness-related content while boys are more often exposed to other forms of digital risk.
The survey also points to notable differences in how girls and boys use media. Boys are more likely to have a PC or game console, while girls more often use tablets. Girls are also more active on social media, whereas boys spend more time gaming. Medietilsynet director Mari Velsand said those patterns run through the data and raised questions about what they mean for young people’s ability to understand society and whether algorithms are reinforcing those divisions.
The gap between parental oversight and teenage online life may be widening as children get older. Among 13- to 15-year-olds, only 4 in 10 said their parents keep track of how they use social media. Velsand said that was paradoxical, given that teenagers are entering a digital environment with far more content, services and risk than before. She also argued that the debate about protecting younger users should not focus only on social media, because messaging apps and gaming platforms now carry many of the same features and dangers.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
