The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), through the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), a department of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), has been conducting annual Brazilian Kids Online surveys since 2012. The main objective of these surveys is to understand how the population aged 9 to 17 years uses the internet and how they deal with risks and opportunities related to its use. Cetic.br uses the findings from the annual surveys to foster a dialogue among stakeholders for developing and discussing public policies aimed at promoting participation and protection of children in the online environment.
Key findings
The latest findings of the Brazilian Kids Online survey show that:
- Now, younger and poorer children are getting online: this improves equality but possibly also vulnerability, especially as much of this access is “mobile online”— unless educational resources and parental support are provided.
- Children aged 9-17 years old are doing a wide range of online activities – including half of them engaging with the news, a third accessing health information, a quarter looking for information about their neighbourhood or job opportunities, and one in ten talking about politics.
- On the other hand, 29% of children experienced something online that upset or bothered them, with 12% having been treated offensively, 42% saw someone discriminated against and, among 11-17 year olds, 1 in 5 exposed to content about ways to get very thin and 1 in 10 to self-harm content.
Watch the seminar celebrating 20 Years Cetic.br and Sonia Livingstone’s keynote
With its annual surveys, Brazil has been a pioneer in the Latin America region thanks to a joint effort between EU Kids Online and the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) led by Alexandre Barbosa.
In 2015, Brazil was amongst the founding members of the network Kids Online América Latina (with Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay) established to support the exchange of expertise and improve the measurement of internet use among children in Latin America.
Survey findings from previous years
2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
More about the research
Preparations for the 6th Brazilian Kids Online survey
Brazil: building strategic partnerships
Research team
Alexandre Barbosa, Marcelo Pitta, Fabio Senne, Maria Eugênia Sózio
Addressing the evidence gaps
Alexandre Barbosa and Maria Eugênia Sózio from Cetic.br discuss the challenges that researchers face when studying children’s online risks and opportunities in Latin America.
Further information
Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society – Cetic.br
