The report "Addictive Behaviours at 18: Internet Use - Survey of Young People Participating in National Defence Day 2024," released by ICAD, has a sample of 91,989 young people.

"The majority (60%) of young people use the internet for an average of four hours or more per day, with 38% using it for five hours or more," the document states.

According to the findings, the prevalence of internet use is identical for boys (98.2%) and girls (99%), with boys tending to start earlier (43% of boys started before age 10, compared to 33% of girls). On the other hand, girls spend more time online on average (36% of boys use the internet for 5 hours or more, compared to 39% of girls).

Internet use has remained at a similar prevalence over the years, close to 100%. Between 2017 and 2024, there was an eight percentage point (pp) difference in the percentage of young people who reported starting to use the internet before age 10.

The increase is slightly more significant among girls (+8 pp) than among boys (+7 pp).

In seven years, the prevalence of young people using the internet for an average of five or more hours per day has increased, but "this increase has not been continuous over the years."

In 2017, 29% of young people reported using these hours, rising to 38% in 2024, with a more significant increase among girls (+8 pp) than among boys (+6 pp). The most commonly used devices for accessing the internet have been smartphones and laptops.

The report also indicates that 97% of 18-year-olds (96% of boys and 99% of girls) use social media.

According to the data, 36% use social media for an average of four or more hours a day, and 44% for two to three hours. The percentage of young people who use social media for less than two hours a day (17%) is small.

Girls tend to use it for longer (15%), while boys (12%) use it less, when it comes to longer-term social media use (six or more hours a day).

ICAD maintains that, since 2015, there has been an increase in the use of social media, which was already widespread among 18-year-olds in the first year of the survey. Regarding online gaming, 61% of 18-year-olds (83% of boys and 38% of girls) admitted to playing.

Boys tend to play for more hours per day, with 10% of boys (12% of players) playing for six or more hours per day, compared to 2% of girls (5% of players).

It was also found that 17% of 18-year-olds (28% of boys and 5% of girls) place bets online.

Boys tend to play for more hours per day – 3% of boys (11% of players) play for six or more hours per day, compared to 0.4% of girls (8% of players). Furthermore, 80% of 18-year-olds (72% of boys and 88% of girls) conduct online research while reading or studying – 29% (36% of users) research up to one hour per day and 32% (40% of users) research between two and three hours.

In this activity, girls are slightly more likely to report more intensive use (six or more hours per day) – 4% of boys (6% of users) spend that amount of time researching per day, compared to 9% of girls (10% of users).

Regarding problems associated with internet use, 36% of young people reported having experienced performance problems at school/work; health problems that required medical attention; behavioural problems at home; financial problems; acts of violence or disorderly conduct; unprotected sex; and emotional distress.