Across Türkiye, nine in ten children between the ages of ten and sixteen have folded artificial intelligence into the rhythms of daily life — a pace of adoption that outstrips nearly every European peer. Yet speed and comfort are not the same thing: fewer than a third of these children feel safe in the digital spaces they so readily inhabit, and one in four now turns to an algorithm rather than a human being when seeking emotional counsel. The EU Kids Online 2026 study, drawing on surveys of more than 28,000 young people across nineteen countries, places this paradox at the center of a larger
Turkish children adopt AI at twice Europe's rate, but safety concerns loom
Children in Türkiye report heightened anxiety about online safety and crime, with 60% expressing fear of victimization in digital spaces.
One in four children now seeks emotional advice from AI, not from people
Mark
So nine in ten children using AI—that's remarkable. But what does "using AI" actually mean in this context? Are we talking about ChatGPT, or does it include recommendation algorithms on social media?
Mimi
The study doesn't break that down in the preliminary findings. It's a broad measure of AI exposure and active engagement. Given that half are using it for homework, we're probably seeing everything from chatbots to educational tools to whatever they find online.
Luke
That's a real gap. "Using AI" could mean anything from daily reliance to clicking once on a recommendation. The 90% figure is striking, but without knowing the distribution—how many use it daily versus occasionally—we're missing the actual story.
Mark
And the emotional advice piece—one in four. That seems like it could be either reassuring or alarming depending on how you frame it.
Mimi
It's both. On one hand, AI is accessible when a child needs to talk something through at 2 a.m. On the other, there's no human judgment, no real relationship, no one who knows the child's full context.
Luke
We should be careful here. The study tells us one in four seek emotional advice from AI. It doesn't tell us whether they're doing so because they prefer it, because they're isolated, or because they don't have trusted adults to talk to. That's crucial context we don't have.
Mark
The safety gap is striking—32% in Türkiye versus 48% across Europe. Why do you think that is?
Mimi
Kursun suggests it's about the speed of adoption outpacing the development of safety infrastructure and cultural norms around digital literacy. When something spreads that fast, the guardrails haven't caught up.
Luke
But we should note that the study doesn't explain causation. We know the numbers, but we don't know if Türkiye's children feel less safe because the environment is objectively less safe, because they're more aware of risks, or because they're less experienced with managing digital spaces. Those are three very different problems requiring different solutions.
Mark
What about the shift toward technical tools instead of conversation between parents and children?
Mimi
It's a concerning trend across Europe, but it's presented almost as a footnote in the preliminary findings. Parents are installing filters instead of talking. That's a loss of something important.
Luke
Again, we need to be precise. The study documents that this shift is happening. But it doesn't tell us whether parents are choosing filters over conversation, or whether they're doing both, or what the actual outcomes are. The full report might clarify that.
O Pulso
- Turkish children are adopting AI at nearly double the European average — 90% versus 67% — with half using it routinely for homework, signaling a generational shift that has outpaced both policy and parental understanding.
- Despite this fluency, only 32% of children in Türkiye feel safe online, a figure that trails Europe's already-declining average of 48% and points to a widening gap between technological use and psychological security.
- Sixty percent of Turkish children fear becoming victims of online crime or encountering deepfakes, reflecting anxieties that have grown sharper continent-wide as disturbing content exposure tripled across Europe between 2020 and 2026.
- One in four Turkish children now seeks emotional support from AI systems rather than parents or trusted adults, a quiet but consequential shift whose long-term effects on psychological development remain largely unstudied.
- Families across Europe — and prominently in Türkiye — are increasingly reaching for filters and monitoring software instead of conversation, substituting technical controls for the human dialogue that researchers say children most need.
- The full comparative report, expected in October with backing from Türkiye's Ministry of National Education, may begin to untangle whether this unease stems from the digital environment itself, from heightened risk perception, or simply from the disorientation of change moving faster than understanding.
Across Türkiye, nine in ten children between the ages of ten and sixteen have folded artificial intelligence into the rhythms of daily life — a pace of adoption that outstrips nearly every European peer. Yet speed and comfort are not the same thing: fewer than a third of these children feel safe in the digital spaces they so readily inhabit, and one in four now turns to an algorithm rather than a human being when seeking emotional counsel. The EU Kids Online 2026 study, drawing on surveys of more than 28,000 young people across nineteen countries, places this paradox at the center of a larger question about what it means for a generation to grow up fluent in a technology they do not yet fully trust.
Nine out of ten children in Türkiye between the ages of ten and sixteen now use artificial intelligence regularly — an adoption rate that stands nearly double the European average, according to preliminary findings from the EU Kids Online 2026 study. The research, which surveyed 1,330 Turkish children as part of a broader examination of 28,465 young people across nineteen countries, reveals not just how quickly AI has entered young lives in Türkiye, but how unevenly that speed has been matched by a sense of security.
About half of Turkish children reported using AI to complete their homework, compared with roughly one-third of their European peers. Only one in ten said they had never used AI at all, while across Europe that figure is closer to one in three. Professor Engin Kursun of Ataturk University, who coordinates the Turkish arm of the research, described the uptake as considerably faster than anything observed elsewhere — though fieldwork is still ongoing and the full analysis will not be released until October.
What the preliminary data already makes clear is that adoption has not brought confidence. Only 32% of children in Türkiye said they feel safe online, well below Europe's own declining average of 48%. Sixty percent expressed fear of becoming victims of online crime or encountering manipulated images. These anxieties sit within a broader continental trend: the share of European children reporting upsetting online content tripled between 2020 and 2026, while those feeling safe online fell from 65% to 48%.
Perhaps the most quietly striking finding is that one in four Turkish children now turns to AI for emotional advice rather than to a parent or trusted adult. Kursun flagged this as a particular concern — not because the behavior is yet well understood, but precisely because it isn't. The psychological implications of children processing difficult feelings through algorithms remain largely unexamined.
Meanwhile, parents across Europe are increasingly responding to their children's digital lives with technical tools — filters, monitoring software, parental controls — rather than direct conversation. The data from Türkiye suggests this pattern is pronounced there as well. The puzzle the study leaves open is whether the gap between Türkiye's high adoption and low sense of safety reflects something real about its digital environment, something about how its children perceive risk, or simply the disorientation that arrives when technology moves faster than the wisdom needed to live well within it.
Nine out of every ten children in Türkiye between the ages of ten and sixteen now use artificial intelligence regularly. That adoption rate stands nearly double the European average, according to preliminary findings from the EU Kids Online 2026 study, a research initiative tracking how young people across the continent engage with digital technology. The data comes from a survey of 1,330 Turkish children conducted between April 2025 and April 2026, part of a larger European study that examined 28,465 young people across nineteen countries.
What distinguishes Türkiye's AI adoption is not merely its speed but its breadth. About half of Turkish children surveyed said they use AI to complete their homework, compared with roughly one-third of their peers elsewhere in Europe. Only one in ten Turkish children reported never having used AI at all, whereas across Europe that figure climbs to approximately one in three. Professor Engin Kursun of Ataturk University, who coordinates the EU Kids Online research in Türkiye, described the uptake as "considerably faster" than what researchers have observed in other countries. The fieldwork in Türkiye is still ongoing, but the preliminary analysis already reveals a sharp divergence from European norms.
Yet this rapid adoption has not brought confidence. Only 32% of children surveyed in Türkiye said they feel safe when using the internet, a figure that falls well below the 48% recorded across Europe. The gap widens when examining specific fears: 60% of Turkish children expressed worry about becoming victims of online crime or encountering manipulated images designed to deceive them. Kursun noted that these concerns reflect a broader pattern. Across Europe, the proportion of children reporting encounters with upsetting or disturbing content online jumped from 7% in 2020 to 23% in 2026, while the share feeling safe online dropped from 65% to 48% over the same five-year span.
One quarter of Turkish children now turn to AI systems for emotional advice and support, a finding that raises questions about how young people are processing difficult feelings and experiences. Rather than discussing problems with parents or trusted adults, an increasing number are seeking guidance from algorithms. Kursun highlighted this shift as a particular concern, noting that while AI adoption has accelerated, the psychological implications of children relying on artificial systems for emotional counsel remain largely unexamined.
Parental responses to children's online experiences have also shifted. Across Europe, families are increasingly relying on technical tools—filters, monitoring software, parental controls—rather than having direct conversations with their children about what they encounter online. This trend appears pronounced in Türkiye as well, though the full comparative analysis will not be available until the complete report's release in October. The data collection in Türkiye received substantial support from the Information Technologies Department of the Ministry of National Education, suggesting government interest in understanding how the country's young people are navigating digital spaces.
The contrast between adoption rates and safety perceptions presents a puzzle. Children in Türkiye have embraced AI faster than almost anywhere else in Europe, yet they report feeling less secure online and harbor greater fears about digital victimization. Whether this reflects genuine differences in the online environment, variations in how children perceive risk, or simply the disorientation that comes with rapid technological change remains an open question. The full European report, expected in October, may offer some answers—and likely will raise new ones about what it means for a generation to grow up with AI as a routine part of their daily lives, even as they express deep unease about the world those systems inhabit.
Citações Notáveis
Children in Türkiye have adopted artificial intelligence much faster than their peers in Europe, with nine out of 10 actively using the technology. However, what we should really focus on is that one in four children receives emotional advice from AI, while 60% fear becoming the victim of a crime or fake image in the digital world.— Professor Engin Kursun, Ataturk University and EU Kids Online coordinator for Türkiye
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