32% of children and adolescents seek emotional support on the internet

A third of Brazilian children and adolescents aged 11 to 17 years old say they have already sought emotional support on the internet. The habit is more common for girls: 36% of them have already resorted to online help, while, in the case of boys, it was 29%.

This is neither good nor bad news, but it attests to the importance of families and educators being aware of this type of search, explains Luísa Adib, coordinator of the ICT Kids Online Brazil survey, a reference in the analysis of digital behavior in childhood and adolescence, released this Tuesday (16).

To investigate the search for emotional support online, the age group from 11 to 17 years old was selected, with the following question: “Have you ever used the internet to seek help when something bad happened to you or to talk about your emotions when you felt sad? ?”

Among the 32% who answered “yes”, there could be both those who followed a safe path and, in fact, got support, as well as those who ended up getting in touch with people or groups that, instead of helping, further complicated their lives. emotional difficulties.

In view of the damage caused to children and adolescents by the pandemic and the prolonged closure of schools during this period, the topic of mental health was included for the first time in TIC Kids Online Brasil – TIC is the acronym for Information and Communication Technology. “Our research has the objective of looking at the use of the internet in childhood and adolescence in order to think of strategies to promote the well-being of children and adolescents”, says Adib.

The study has been carried out annually, since 2012 (with the exception of 2020, due to confinement), by the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil, which brings together government and civil society representatives to establish guidelines for internet use in the country.

The samples are national, based on IBGE data. In this edition, from October 2021 to March 2022, 2,651 children and adolescents were interviewed in person, in addition to their parents or guardians. The results will be presented and debated this Tuesday (16) at the 7th Children and Adolescents on the Internet Symposium, in São Paulo, with live broadcast on YouTube, on the Nic.br channel (Center for Information and Coordination of Ponto BR).

The survey is a tool to map internet risks for children and adolescents and also to discuss mediation and control practices by parents and educators. It is also a way of demonstrating inequalities not only in internet access but also in the way the network is used. And this is a fact that draws attention in the new edition.

Despite the pandemic and distance learning, 7% of Brazilians aged 9 to 17 still do not have access to the internet. In class AB, 100% of those in this age group use it, in C, 96%, and in CD, the number drops to 86%. The lowest access rate is in the North region (87%), while in the South it is 98%.

In addition, in the CD class, 78% of children and adolescents access the internet only from their cell phones, while in AB they are 18%, and most connect using different devices, such as computers, televisions and video games.

The survey also gives the dimension of the explosion of internet use since the pandemic, especially among younger children. The previous survey, from 2019, had pointed out that 79% were internet users aged 9 and 10. In 2021, that number jumped to 92%. The pandemic also represented a significant increase in access for children and adolescents in the Northeast, also from 79% in 2019 to 92% in 2021.

In rural areas, similarly, the connection apparently grew during this period, and users in this age group rose from 75% to 90%. “We celebrate the expansion of access in Brazil, because being disconnected today is being on the margins of society. But it is necessary to analyze under what conditions access occurs and in what way children and adolescents are using the internet”, says the research coordinator, who has a master’s degree in public policy management.

When reading these results, it must be considered that, when the interviews began to be carried out, in October 2021, most schools still had remote teaching. “This edition naturally brings the impact of the pandemic on the results. Whether the expansion of access and the new habits that took place in this period will or will not remain, we will only be sure in the research of the coming years.”

The pandemic also exploded the use of social networks. From 68% who used them in 2019, it rose to 78% in 2021. Likewise, access to online games with contact with other players (57% to 66%) and even purchases (9% to 19%) grew.

Currently, 88% of children and adolescents between the ages of 9 and 17 have a profile on social networks. Although most networks officially allow only those who are 13 or older to sign up, younger ones have a massive presence. Of children aged 9 and 10, 68% are on the networks. Among those aged 10 and 11, they are 86%.

“These are data that reinforce the enormous importance of dialogue and adult mediation in the use of the internet in childhood and adolescence”, concludes Adib.