Engl. transl.: Online risks of Estonian youth and coping with them

According to a survey conducted by EU Kids Online in the summer of 2018, 97% of Estonian young people use the Internet every day (Sukk, Soo 2018). In international comparison, Estonian young people have been standing out for years because their use of the Internet is particularly risky (Helsper et al. 2013). In this chapter, we rely on Estonian data from two survey waves of the international EU Kids Online survey - 2010 and 2018 - to explain the downsides of Internet use among 11–17-year-old Estonian youth. To this end, we focus on the main online risks (cyberbullying and witnessing it; excessive use of the internet; risks related to personal information and data; sexual, harmful or disturbing online content) that threaten young people, and analyze how often Estonian young people experience online harm, which coping strategies they use and how they manage disturbing online experiences. Thus, for the first time, we present to the public a corresponding analysis, which includes a comparison over time and is based on the representative data of Estonian youth, thus filling an important gap. Recommendations for the promotion of youth policy based on the results of empirical analysis also help to improve the input of (digital) youth work.

"In general, when young people experience more serious online harm and feel more or less disturbed, they find a trustworthy person to share their concerns with. However, a small group of young people stand out who have been more severely disturbed by cyberbullying or who have felt online for fear, but have not shared with anyone what happened. Although proactive coping strategies are more effective and help to develop resilience (Vandoninck et al. 2012), young people are more likely to use passive strategies. Here, too, a certain stratification pattern emerged: more young people use proactive techniques, who also prefer a communicative strategy, are older (and therefore more competent) and value their social status higher." (Kalmus et al., 2020, p. 92; translated by the coder).