Many parents have built a strong foundation of trust and open communication. But the risks children face online are evolving rapidly. AI-generated content is making it harder to judge what is real, gaming chats can bring children into contact with strangers, and cyberbullying remains a threat. The findings below show where these newer risks are emerging, and why online safety conversations need to keep pace.
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Norton Insights Report 2026: Connected Kids
How online risks for children are changing in 2026
Parents are having “the talk.” AI just rewrote the script.
Families are talking, and parents are already stepping up — even as new concerns emerge around AI and children. Conversations that once centered on strangers and screen time are expanding to include AI-generated content, gaming communities, and critical thinking in a world where seeing is no longer believing. This edition of Norton’s Insights Report explores how online risks for kids are changing, with a particular focus on AI and kids’ online safety, and how parents are adapting.
To understand how children’s and parents' digital lives are changing, especially at the intersection of AI and kids’ safety, Norton commissioned a survey of 13,003 people between May and June 2026 across 12 countries.* Here's what we found.
Global key takeaways
81% of parents of children younger than 18 across all markets in our study feel comfortable talking to their kids about online risks.
75% of parents are concerned that AI could be used to create fake images or conversations involving their child, and 49% have already taken steps to reduce AI-related risks for their kids.
54% of parents whose kids play chat-enabled games say their child has chatted with a stranger; 29% say their child was encouraged to continue the conversation on another platform.
Digital risks facing kids: A global view
This study spans 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. See the world maps below for a country-by-country breakdown of key metrics. Find out where parents are least confident that their child can spot AI-generated content (Japan), and where they're most likely to say their child was cyberbullied (the U.S.).
One pattern travels well: parents generally feel comfortable talking to their children about AI, even in countries where concerns about the technology are highest. While attitudes vary by country, the overall challenge remains remarkably similar.
Parents are building safer online habits
Our findings indicate that parents are engaged. Across all markets, including Australia, most report feeling comfortable discussing online risks with their children. Many parents have already taken concrete steps for the AI era, and children are turning to their parents first when they experience cyberbullying. These findings suggest many families already have the foundation needed to navigate what's next, even if the conversation isn’t over.
Parents are having “the talk”
81% of parents in all markets feel comfortable talking to their child about online risks like scams, strangers, and inappropriate content, compared to 83% in Australia.
How parents first learned about cyberbullying |
All markets |
Australia |
|---|---|---|
My child told me |
43% |
27% |
I discovered it myself |
25% |
39% |
A friend of my child told me |
8% |
12% |
A family member told me |
8% |
7% |
A teacher or school administrator told me |
8% |
5% |
Another child's parent or family member told me |
6% |
5% |
Fostering open conversations about online safety can make it easier for children to speak up. Among parents whose child has experienced cyberbullying, 43% across all markets said they first learned about it from their own child — the most commonly reported source. In Australia, though, just 27% said their child told them first, while 39% said they discovered it themselves.
And they’re adapting to the AI era
As AI becomes part of children’s everyday lives, many parents are already adjusting how they approach online safety. Nearly half (49%) of parents across all markets say they've taken steps to reduce risks related to AI tools or content, combining conversations with practical safeguards at home.
GLOBAL
49% of parents in all markets have taken steps to reduce potential risks from AI tools or content.
AUSTRALIA
42% of parents in Australia have taken steps to reduce potential risks from AI tools or content.
Steps parents have taken to reduce AI risks |
All markets |
Australia |
|---|---|---|
Talked to my child about AI risks |
57% |
54% |
Limited my child’s screen time |
54% |
50% |
Restricted access to certain apps or platforms |
54% |
62% |
Monitored their online activity more closely |
52% |
55% |
Blocked or filtered certain types of content |
45% |
48% |
Delayed giving them access to devices or apps |
32% |
39% |
Globally, the most common steps parents took were talking to their child about AI risks, limiting their child’s screen time, and restricting access to certain apps or platforms.
In Australia, restricting access to apps and platforms was the most popular measure, followed by closely monitoring children’s online activity and talking them about AI risks.
Introducing The Bots & The Bees
AI is reshaping what children see, share, and experience online. Our Bots & The Bees series offers practical guidance to help families navigate these changes and protect kids’ digital lives.
Learn why sharenting is getting riskier, how to talk to kids about online strangers, how to teach children AI literacy, and how to navigate platform bans.
Three ways online risks for kids are changing
AI is changing how kids experience the internet
AI-generated accounts, fake content, and AI-enabled impersonation (aka deepfakes) now sit alongside cyberbullies and strangers as potential sources of online harm for kids. It's becoming harder for people of all ages — and children especially — to know what is real, who they're really chatting with, and whether information can be trusted.
Parents are starting to take notice of the sometimes-troubling relationship between AI and kids. Across all markets, 46% were not confident their child could tell the difference between AI-generated content and real content.
Artificial content also raises new concerns about the dangers of sharenting in the age of AI, as publicly available photos can be altered or repurposed by strangers in ways parents may not have anticipated when they first shared them.
Parents’ concerns about AI |
All markets |
Australia |
|---|---|---|
Not confident that their child can tell the difference between AI-generated content and real content. |
46% |
36% |
Not confident that their child understands that AI tools can produce incorrect or misleading information. |
34% |
27% |
Concerned that AI could be used to create fake images or conversations involving their child. |
75% |
76% |
Noticed their child turning to AI-powered tools (like ChatGPT or other chatbots) for companionship, conversation, advice, or emotional support they might otherwise ask a person. |
35% |
28% |
Parents do not need a technical background to help close these gaps. Experts on digital risks facing children recommend practicing one simple question together: “How do I know this is real?” Asking it when watching a video, reading a message, or viewing an image can help children build the habit of pausing before they trust or react. Our guide to building AI literacy with children offers more practical ways to start these conversations.
Gaming chat leaves children vulnerable
For many children, online games are places to socialise. But the chat layer on top of gaming can also expose them to strangers, inappropriate messages, and requests to continue conversations on unmoderated platforms. Some gaming platforms, like Roblox, have faced criticism for allegedly not doing enough to prevent potential predators from chatting with minors.
Across all markets, 57% of parents said their child plays online games with voice or text chat, compared to 46% in Australia. Across all markets and in Australia, approximately half of children who played chat-enabled online games had chatted with strangers, and around a quarter had received inappropriate messages or been encouraged to take the chat off-platform.
This progression matters. As children move from playing games to chatting with strangers, and eventually to conversations outside the game environment, parents potentially lose visibility into who their kids are interacting with and where those conversations continue.
Apps such as Discord, WhatsApp, and Telegram can make exchanges more private and harder for parents to monitor.
Experts on digital risks facing children recommend asking kids what they think the person contacting them actually wants, rather than simply whether the person seems friendly. Helping kids consider someone’s intent can make manipulation easier to recognise, especially when moving a conversation off-platform is part of the strategy.
Our recommendations for updating the “don’t talk to strangers” conversation for the AI era offer more practical advice for families.
Chat risks in online games |
All markets |
Australia |
|---|---|---|
Have chatted with a stranger via voice or text |
54% |
49% |
Have received inappropriate or offensive messages |
29% |
24% |
Have been encouraged to leave the game to continue a conversation on another platform |
29% |
24% |
Cyberbullying remains a problem
Across all markets, 14% of parents said their child had experienced cyberbullying. In Australia, that figure is 11%. Globally, the three platforms where it occurred most were Facebook (37%), TikTok (32%), and WhatsApp (30%). In Australia, the top platforms for cyberbullying were Facebook (47%), WhatsApp (37%), and via text messages (34%). Separate intelligence by Threat Researchers at Norton suggests Facebook may be a major source of online risk for children more broadly.
Cyberbullying is no longer limited to classmates or familiar faces. Parents reported strangers, fake profiles, gaming contacts, and even AI-generated accounts among the perpetrators, making it increasingly difficult to know who is really behind the abuse.
Reported perpetrators of cyberbullying |
All markets |
Australia |
|---|---|---|
Stranger online |
34% |
32% |
Someone using a fake profile or impersonating another person |
31% |
27% |
Classmate or peer |
29% |
36% |
Someone they met through online gaming |
25% |
17% |
Older teen or young adult |
24% |
20% |
Former friend or ex-friend group |
20% |
22% |
AI-generated account or bot |
16% |
30% |
Sibling or family member |
10% |
27% |
Leyla Bilge
Global Head of Scam Research at Norton
“Parents have spent years teaching children how to recognize strangers online, but AI changes the nature of what ‘danger’ online looks like.
From the misuse and alteration of posted or shared photos to AI bots acting as cyberbullies or impersonating trusted sources, there are entirely new risks at play, and that means parents need to update how they talk about online safety.”
High confidence, real exposure
Even if parents feel comfortable talking about online safety, their children’s digital lives do not always unfold within the bounds of those conversations. As kids gain more independence online, they test limits, find workarounds, and make decisions without a parent present.
That gap becomes more important as children get their first personal smartphone, typically around the age of 12 globally and 13 in Australia (according to our survey findings). From staying online past bedtime to sharing personal details with strangers, the behaviours highlighted show how run-of-the-mill rule-breaking can overlap with more serious online risks.
In the age of AI, kids' online safety is an ongoing conversation
Parents are already talking to their children about online safety, but the risks they face are changing faster than any single conversation can cover. The strongest protection is not one perfect “talk,” but an ongoing habit of checking in, questioning what is real, and helping children recognise when online interactions don’t feel “right.”
As an added safeguard, Cyber Safety software for families can help parents set screen-time limits, supervise their children’s web and app use, and gain insights into their online behaviour.
Methodology note
*This study was commissioned by Gen (the company behind Norton) and conducted online by Dynata across 12 markets: the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Japan, and Mexico from 22 May to 19 June 2026. 13,003 adults aged 18+ (around 1,000 respondents per market) were surveyed. The UK’s 2,001 respondents were weighted down so every market counts equally. Data is weighted by age, gender, and region to be nationally representative.
Within this report, mentions of parents refer to parents of children under 18 years of age, accounting for 39% of adults surveyed across all markets.
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