Preliminary results from the "EU Kids Online 2026" study show that around 9 out of 10 children aged 10 to 16 in Turkey use artificial intelligence, while one in four children turns to these technologies for emotional advice.
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The findings pointed to growing concerns over children's safety online, as only 32% of the children surveyed in Turkey said they feel safe online, compared to 48% in Europe.
Professor Engin Kurşun of Atatürk University, coordinator of the study in Turkey, said children in the country have adopted AI at a much faster pace than their European peers.
He added that what's especially striking is that a quarter of children turn to AI for emotional advice, while 60% of them fear becoming victims of cybercrime or fake, manipulated images.
AI Use Exceeds European Average
The "EU Kids Online" network, which specializes in studying children's internet use and digital experiences, conducted the European study between April 2025 and April 2026, covering 28,465 children aged 10 to 16 across 19 countries.
Data collection in Turkey is still ongoing, but a preliminary analysis covering 1,330 children showed widespread AI use.
About one in ten children in Turkey said they had never used AI, compared to about one in three children in Europe. Around half of children in Turkey also reported using AI to complete their schoolwork, compared to about a third among their European peers.
Turkish data was largely collected with support from the Information Technology Department of the Ministry of National Education.
Growing Concerns Over Online Safety
The European findings also showed a decline in children's sense of online safety over recent years. The percentage of children who said they feel safe online fell from 65% in 2020 to 48% in the current study.
By contrast, the percentage of children who said they had encountered something disturbing or worrying online in the previous month rose from 7% to 23%.
Kurşun noted a shift in how families deal with children's digital experiences, explaining that families are increasingly relying on technical tools instead of discussing problems directly with their children.
In Turkey, concerns appear more pronounced, as only 32% of participating children said they feel safe online, while 60% expressed fear of falling victim to cybercrime or fake, manipulated images.
The full report, which compares the situation of children in Turkey with their peers in European countries, is expected to be published in October.
Resource: Al-Ghad.
