There has been a regular and significant increase in internet use over the past two decades. In 2022, on average around 92% of 16‑74 year‑olds used the internet across the OECD compared to only 52% in 2005 (Figure 8.13). Although all OECD countries with available data increased their internet access since 2005, internet use increased most in Greece, Mexico and Türkiye by over 60 percentage points.
Differences in internet use are primarily linked to education and age, and are often intertwined with income levels. In most countries, internet use by young people is nearly universal, but there are wide differences for older generations (Figure 8.14). On average across the OECD, around 98% of 16‑24 year‑olds used the internet in 2022 compared to about 81% of 55‑74 year‑olds. In 2022, the internet use rate among 16‑24 year‑olds ranged from 100% in Austria, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom, to 86% in the United States. By contrast, internet use among 55‑74 year‑olds ranged from 99% in Norway to 53% in Türkiye. In terms of education and household income, the rate of internet use increases as an individual’s education level and income quintile rises. Even though men are slightly more likely to have used the internet than women, the gender gap is very slim across the OECD on average.
Around 15% of adolescents across the OECD reported having been a victim of cyberbullying at least once or twice in the previous couple of months in 2022 (Figure 8.15). The highest cyberbullying rates in OECD countries can be found in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Canada and the United Kingdom, where more than one in five adolescents reported cyberbullying. The lowest rates are in Spain and Portugal, where less than 10% of adolescents report having been victims of cyberbullying. The digital space can also introduce new risks and stress sources in young people’s lives. Exposure to cyber-bullying – for instance, the rapid creation and sharing of offensive messages or comments, spreading of rumours, exclusion of victims from online groups and other forms of harassment – is associated with higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms even when compared to traditional bullying, which may affect victims’ (later) life outcomes.
Teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to report having been victim of cyberbullying. The gender difference is especially large in Sweden, France and Canada, where cyberbullying rates for girls exceed those for boys by more than 6 percentage points. Teenage boys report higher rates of cyberbullying only in Lithuania by nearly 10 percentage points and to a lesser extent in Poland by less than 2 percentage points.
