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Youth Digital Literacy Statistics in Canada

Canadian findings on how young people find information, learn digital skills, use school devices, and navigate online life.

November 12, 2026 9 min read b-free.ca Editorial Team

Contents

Youth digital literacy statistics: how Canadian youth search for and verify information online

Canadian young people reported using several approaches to find information online in the 2021 Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) Phase IV survey. The most commonly reported practice in this group was searching within a site they considered reliable: 82% said they did this. Another 71% said they would start again with different search terms or a different search engine if they were unhappy with the results.

The other reported search practices show a mix of strategies. Some 67% said they ask a teacher for sites to use, and 66% use specialized search tools. In addition, 63% scan the whole results page before clicking, 58% use more than 1 search engine to research a topic, and 57% limit results to specific sites. These are separate responses about reported habits; the survey does not show whether the same young people used each approach or whether a particular search found the right answer. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, Figure 6.)

Reported ways of checking reliability likewise include outside advice and comparing sources. In 2021, 74% said they ask a teacher whether a source is reliable. A further 73% said they check a source they already know is reliable, and 73% look at other websites to see whether they report the same information. Some 68% said they check an online encyclopedia such as Wikipedia.

Those answers describe what respondents say they do when assessing information. They do not test whether the source they selected was trustworthy or whether their judgment was correct. Together, however, the separate measures show young participants describing both personal checking and consultation with other sources or a teacher. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, Figure 7.)

Youth digital literacy statistics: what youth learn about search engines, coding, and media creation

The 2021 YCWW survey asked young participants whether and where they had learned about different digital skills. For algorithms, 30% said they had never learned what an algorithm is or how it works, while 31% said they had learned about algorithms from parents or guardians. For coding, 33% said they had never learned it, and 30% named teachers as a source of learning.

Media creation had a different reported learning source. Some 33% said they had learned how to make or publish media using digital devices from friends. Another 16% said they had never learned how to make or publish media with digital devices. These measures concern reported exposure to learning and its source; they do not establish how well a respondent could code, explain an algorithm, or create media. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, Figure 11.)

Older participants also identified subjects they wanted to learn about. Figure 15 covers grades 7–11 and is labelled n=659. The most frequently selected topic among the measures here was how to tell whether online information is true, named by 46%. Finding information online was close, at 44%. Interest in learning about algorithms was 27%, while 23% wanted more about coding.

These responses record interest in further learning, not a formal assessment of existing skill or proof that a participant lacked instruction. The topic choices nonetheless span both information judgment and technical concepts, showing that digital literacy in this survey includes more than using a search engine. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, Figure 15; n=659.)

Youth digital literacy statistics: digital literacy teaching and device access in Canadian schools

Statistics Canada reported what Canadian 15-year-old students said they had been taught in 2018. Five selected skills show how reported instruction varied by subject:

Skill students reported being taughtCanadian 15-year-olds, 2018
Understanding consequences of online sharing81%
Evaluating trustworthiness of Internet information79%
Detecting subjective or biased information70%
Using keywords in a search engine62%
Detecting phishing or spam emails38%

The strongest reported teaching in this set concerned consequences of online sharing, while detecting phishing or spam emails was reported less often. This is a comparison of student reports about instruction, not a test of what students could do. The chart covers 2018, and the territories did not participate. (Statistics Canada, “Percentage of 15-year-old students who reported having been taught digital literacy and well-being, by skill, 2018”.)

Device access and use are related to learning conditions, but the measures below refer to different ages, years, and kinds of activity. In 2018, 94% of Canadian 15-year-old students reported having a computer at home that they could use for schoolwork. In 2016, 80% of Canadian Grade 4 students reported using a computer or tablet at home for schoolwork at least once a month; 20% said they never or almost never did so. Grade 4 students are typically aged 9–10. The first observation is about access to a computer; the second describes frequency of home use for schoolwork. (Statistics Canada, Digital literacy skills of Canadian youth, pp. 1–2.)

A 2025 PISA country note describes device use at school among Canadian PISA students. They reported an average of 1.6 hours per day using digital devices at school for learning activities and 1.1 hours per day for leisure. The two averages distinguish learning from leisure in the school setting. They are not measures of home access or home use, and their 2025 period should not be conflated with the earlier Statistics Canada observations. (OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Canada, “Digital resources”.)

Youth digital literacy statistics: privacy, safety, and online risk awareness

In the 2021 YCWW survey, participants in grades 7–11 were asked which topics they wanted to learn about. Figure 15, labelled n=659, reports that 37% wanted more learning about using privacy settings and 36% wanted more about how to be safe online. Another 27% wanted to know more about how companies collect and use personal information.

These are distinct subjects: account controls, personal safety, and data practices. The percentages measure interest in further learning among the older survey group, rather than the share who had experienced a privacy problem or lacked a specific skill. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, Figure 15; n=659.)

Other topics in that figure concerned difficult online interactions and content. Some 25% wanted more learning about dealing with cyberbullying, 17% about reporting inappropriate online behaviour or content, and 14% about dealing with hateful, racist, or sexist information online. These responses indicate requested learning topics; they do not say how many respondents personally encountered the situations.

A separate 2024 Public Safety Canada online survey asked Canadian youth respondents aged 14–24 about how safe they felt in different settings. For “while online,” 29% selected “very safe.” This is one response category, not a measure of everyone who felt safe to any degree. The survey included 801 youth respondents and used a non-probability online sample, so the figure describes those respondents and is not a probability-based national estimate. (Public Safety Canada, Cyberbullying Public Awareness Research 2024: Final Report, “Impressions of youth safety by location”; 2024 Youth, n=801.)

Youth digital literacy statistics: digital citizenship, sharing, and participation

In the 2021 YCWW survey, 74% of young participants agreed that they contribute positive things to online spaces such as social networking sites. Responses to separate statements about posting were lower: 34% agreed that they only post things they are sure will not offend or upset other people, and 31% agreed that people expect them to post only positive things online. These figures describe respondents’ views about their own contributions and perceived expectations. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, Figures 16–17.)

The survey also asked about posting online about a cause or event a participant cared about. In 2021, 55% said they did this, and the report explicitly states that 45% did so at least once a month. Figure 18 displays the frequency categories as 9% at least daily, 22% weekly, 14% monthly, 10% yearly, and 46% not doing this. The listed categories and the report’s monthly-or-more statement are both reported measures; they should be read as presented rather than treated as a new calculation. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, passage before Figure 18 and Figure 18.)

Among older youth in grades 7–11, 35% said they had joined or supported a specific activist group online. In a separate question, 83% of young participants agreed that online platforms should supervise posts and comments and take down bad content. The first figure describes reported participation among older youth; the second is a view about platform responsibility. Neither measures how often platforms moderate content or what they remove. (MediaSmarts, Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV, Figures 19–20.)

One PISA measure captures a specific form of online harm over a defined period. In 2025, 3% of Canadian PISA students reported that upsetting information about them had been published online without their consent at least a few times a month during the 12 months before the test. This measure has a particular frequency threshold and reference period; it does not cover every kind of online sharing or harm. (OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Canada.)

Public Safety Canada’s 2024 online survey asked youth respondents aged 14–24 about awareness of cyberbullying and personal experience. Among 801 respondents, 65% said they were very aware and 29% somewhat aware. In a separate question, 38% reported having personally been cyberbullied, while 60% selected “No, never.” Awareness and experience are different measures; the responses do not describe the severity or full range of behaviour involved. The survey was conducted online from September 30 to October 14, 2024, and used a non-probability sample. (Public Safety Canada, Cyberbullying Public Awareness Research 2024: Final Report, “Awareness of cyberbullying” and “Experience being cyberbullied”; 2024 Youth, n=801.)

In that survey, 35% said they used the internet for social interaction hourly or more often/constantly, and 55% said several times a day. The report defines social interaction to include texting, messaging, chatting, gaming, or sharing on social media. The frequency responses do not indicate the purpose or quality of a particular interaction. (Public Safety Canada, Cyberbullying Public Awareness Research 2024: Final Report, “Use of internet for any social interaction”; 2024 Youth, n=801.)

The report’s past-week platform measure provides further context for where respondents had recently been active. YouTube was reported by 82%, Instagram by 74%, TikTok by 63%, and Discord by 32%. These results refer specifically to use during the past week among the survey’s youth respondents. They do not measure time spent, digital skill, or the content seen on any service. (Public Safety Canada, Cyberbullying Public Awareness Research 2024: Final Report, “Use of social media sites or apps in the past week”; 2024 Youth, n=801.)

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