Nearly half of teenagers have experienced online violence. One in four has been insulted online, and one in five has been mocked or ridiculed, according to the “Teenagers 3.0” report by NASK. The scale of cyberbullying is growing, and when combined with social media addiction and increasing image-related pressure, it has a negative impact on the mental health of the younger generation. On March 25, during an informal meeting of the EPSCO Health Council, EU health ministers discussed how to protect children’s and adolescents’ mental health in the age of technology and social media.
“Young people are directly and frequently exposed to online harassment. They spend an excessive amount of time in front of screens. For example, over 22% of young people spend an average of 4 hours per day in front of a screen. We’re talking about school-aged children who spend 4 hours daily using screen devices, playing online games, or browsing the internet,”
highlighted Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, during the closing conference.
According to data from the WHO’s European Office, part of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, one in six teenagers globally has been a victim of cyberbullying. The situation is worse in Poland, where as many as 1 in 5 children may have experienced online violence. Across all age groups, Polish youth ranks in the top five countries and regions with the highest rates of cyberbullying. While overall trends in peer violence have remained stable since 2018, cyberbullying continues to intensify.
“On the one hand, digital tools are extremely important and necessary—we must teach the younger generation how to navigate the digital world. But at the same time, research shows us that the digital world can be dangerous. We’re talking about hate speech, fake news, and cybercrime,”
emphasized Izabela Leszczyna, Poland’s Minister of Health.
Verbal aggression, insults on chat platforms, identity theft, posting embarrassing content, and sexual harassment are just some of the dangers that young people face in the virtual world. These incidents are increasing year after year. According to NASK, 48.8% of teenagers admit to encountering online violence. 26.8% have been insulted, and 19.5% have experienced ridicule or humiliation. Additionally, 68.4% of youth believe that hate speech is a major issue online.
“The level of cyber aggression targeting youth has doubled in the past 10 years, so we must do much more to tackle this issue,”
noted Olivér Várhelyi.
Mental Health and Technology – A Rising Crisis
Excessive exposure to digital technology has led to rising levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, which severely affect the mental well-being of young people. Due to the increasing scale of the issue, Poland has made youth mental health one of its priorities during its presidency of the EU Council.
On March 25, 2025, during the informal EPSCO Health Council meeting in Warsaw, health ministers from EU member states discussed how to protect children’s and adolescents’ mental health in the digital era. They concluded that cross-country cooperation and experience sharing are essential, especially when it comes to policies like restricting mobile phone use in schools.
“As adults, and especially as policymakers, we must act responsibly and ensure that children and youth have a safe digital environment,”
urged Minister Izabela Leszczyna.
“I’m glad that all the ministers, as well as the European Commission, spoke in one voice: we need joint action at the EU level, because the internet has no borders.”
A Call for a European Mental Health Strategy for Youth
As emphasized during the meeting, health policies must adapt to new challenges and protect young people from the harmful effects of excessive technology use. It is equally important to promote healthy digital behavior patterns, allowing youth to safely benefit from the opportunities the internet offers.
The March meeting of health ministers was part of a broader conversation on youth mental health, aiming to find effective solutions to this urgent issue. Poland’s presidency has launched efforts to develop a common European strategy for better protection of children’s and adolescents’ mental health.
A key milestone in these efforts will be the Council Conclusions, which Poland aims to adopt in June during the formal EPSCO Health Council.
“We all agree on the need to protect the younger generation and to take more preventive action. I hope the Danish presidency will continue the work initiated by Poland. It’s not enough to allocate funding to programs—we must maintain constant dialogue with stakeholders, and we need help from platform operators in combating this issue. Otherwise, the **mental health of an entire generation may be at risk,”
warned the EU Commissioner for Health.
