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Current risks regarding child safety online
This section provides an overview of the risks and challenges affecting children and young people (11-17 years old) in the digital environment in Ukraine
The most prevalent online risks for children in Ukraine include cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, contact with strangers, online grooming, psychological manipulation, misinformation, online recruitment into illegal activities, privacy violations, and excessive exposure to harmful digital environments. These risks increasingly materialise in both online and offline spaces simultaneously, as online interactions often have direct real-life psychological, social, and security consequences. In the context of war, online risks in Ukraine frequently overlap with physical safety concerns, including manipulation linked to hostile information campaigns, recruitment attempts for sabotage activities, and exposure to traumatic war-related content.
These risks are increasing and evolving rather than decreasing. The rapid expansion of social media use, encrypted messaging platforms, AI-generated content, and algorithm-driven recommendation systems has created more complex and difficult-to-monitor online environments. There is a clear escalation pattern of risks: 65% of children reported being contacted by strangers online, 50% received emotional praise or friendship from unknown individuals, 37% experienced insults or harassment online, 31% were invited into private chats or platforms, and 18% were asked to share personal or intimate content. Emerging risks include AI-generated manipulation, deepfakes, extremist or hostile propaganda, and online recruitment through platforms such as Telegram and gaming environments.14 Children aged approximately 10–15 appear particularly vulnerable because this age group combines intensive digital activity with limited critical digital literacy and emotional maturity. The materials also highlight heightened vulnerabilities among conflict-affected children, internally displaced children, children with disabilities, children living in poverty, and socially isolated adolescents. Boys may face increased exposure to recruitment attempts linked to sabotage or violent online communities, while girls are often more exposed to grooming, sexual harassment, body image pressure, and online exploitation. One of the risks of the digital environment is the emotional impact of participating in online communities that may romanticize or normalize suicide, self-harm, and other forms of risky behavior. International studies indicate that exposure to such content can exacerbate adolescents’ psychological vulnerability and increase the risk of dangerous behavior. Closed online communities that encourage self-harm, as well as viral online challenges and content aimed at demonstrating risky actions for the sake of popularity or to create video content, pose a particular threat.
