Half of children in the Netherlands aged 10 to 15 sometimes see posts online that frighten or upset them, but many do not tell their parents out of shame or fear of an angry reaction, a government survey has found.
The finding comes as junior digital economy minister Willemijn Aerdts launches a new phase of the government’s Blijf in Beeld (“Stay in the picture”) campaign, which encourages parents to talk to their children about what they encounter online and to agree rules on phone use together.
The survey, commissioned by the economic affairs and climate ministry (EZK), found children in the Netherlands now get their first smartphone at the age of 10 on average. Children most often named Snapchat and TikTok as the places they were most likely to come across something unpleasant.
Talk early
Aerdts said parents should start those conversations while children are young, before the influence of friends grows. “Be curious about what they see, including the nice and funny things,” she said, arguing this makes it easier for children to also raise the frightening or harmful side of social media.
Parents should not judge children for what they do online, she added, and should be open about their own use.
The campaign, developed in part with children’s helpline the Kindertelefoon, comes with a printed card that parents and children fill in together. The ministry said 89.4% of children understood why rules on phone use mattered, and half said they welcomed them.
Waiting for Brussels
Aerdts said platforms were not doing enough to protect children. “The online world is really not yet a safe place for children,” she said, adding that this was why the government wants a minimum age for social media use agreed at European level rather than in national law.
That marks a contrast with France, Spain and Greece, which have moved to set their own age limits. France passed a law last month barring under-15s from social media, though its Constitutional Council then ruled the measure unconstitutional in its current form and the government is redrafting it.
Aerdts has previously said she wants to avoid “a mishmash of rules and regulations that will The European Commission is working on its own proposals: last month researchers advised it to ban social media for children under 13, and commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said she will bring forward a proposal to limit children’s use after the summer.
