Contents
- Youth online activity in Canada statistics: how often teens socialize online
- Youth online activity in Canada statistics: popular digital activities among ages 15 to 24
- Youth online activity in Canada statistics: time spent online and gaming
- Youth online activity in Canada statistics: differences in social networking, messaging and gaming
- Youth online activity in Canada statistics: cybervictimization and harmful content
- Youth online activity in Canada statistics: social media and content creation
- Sources
Youth online activity in Canada statistics: how often teens socialize online
A 2024 Public Safety Canada survey asked youth respondents aged 10 to 24 how often they used the internet for social interaction. The most common response was several times a day, reported by 55%. Another 35% said hourly or more often, including constantly. Less frequent responses were about once a day (6%), a few times a week (2%) and once a week or less (1%). These categories describe frequency of social interaction online, not total internet time or use of any particular platform. Public Safety Canada, Table 1
The distinction between “several times a day” and “hourly or more often/constantly” matters: the survey reports them as separate answers. The smaller frequency categories are also kept distinct, rather than combined into a new threshold. This distribution is a set of respondents’ answers, not a count of sessions or a time-use diary. Public Safety Canada, Table 1
The same survey asked for impressions of online social activities. In 2024, 82% of youth respondents rated texting and messaging positively. This is an attitude measure, separate from the question about how often they socialized online. Together, the measures describe reported frequency and views about one activity, not whether frequent use produced a particular outcome. Public Safety Canada, Table 2
The populations and reference periods in the findings below vary. Public Safety Canada defines youth respondents as ages 10 to 24. Other results concern ages 15 to 24, adolescents ages 12 to 17, or children and youth ages 7 to 17. They are snapshots from different surveys, not one continuous series for a single age cohort. Public Safety Canada; Statistics Canada, 2022 CIUS youth findings; Statistics Canada, 2019 adolescent study
Youth online activity in Canada statistics: popular digital activities among ages 15 to 24
Statistics Canada’s 2022 Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS) asked youth aged 15 to 24 whether they had done selected online activities during the preceding 3 months. Messaging, social networking and watching user-generated video content were among the activities reported by this age group. The chart also includes calls, gaming, podcasts, streaming, uploading and virtual reality access, providing a broad view of activities without measuring how often each one occurred. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 2
| Online activity during the preceding 3 months | Youth aged 15 to 24 |
|---|---|
| Sent messages using an instant messaging app | 92% |
| Used social networking websites or apps | 91% |
| Watched user-generated content on video-sharing websites or platforms | 89% |
| Made online voice calls or video calls | 82% |
| Played video games | 73% |
| Listened to podcasts | 51% |
| Watched live-streaming services, excluding user-generated content | 38% |
| Watched eSports or other video game streaming services | 33% |
| Uploaded self-created content on sharing websites, a blog or a personal website | 23% |
| Accessed the internet with virtual reality devices | 5% |
Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 2
The chart records whether an activity occurred within a 3-month window. It does not tell how regularly a respondent did it, how many times they did it, or how long they spent on it. A respondent who watched user-generated video once during that period is counted in the same activity category as one who watched more often; the chart does not break out those patterns. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 2
The viewing categories have specific meanings. User-generated content on video-sharing platforms was reported by 89%; live-streaming services excluding user-generated content by 38%; and eSports or other video game streaming services by 33%. These are separate survey labels, so combining them as one general video measure would obscure what respondents were asked about. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 2
Uploading self-created material on sharing websites, a blog or a personal website was reported by 23%. That category does not encompass every kind of social media post. The 5% who accessed the internet with virtual reality devices is also specific to that activity; the figure does not measure ownership or frequency. The survey captures selected online behaviors rather than every aspect of young people’s digital lives. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 2
Youth online activity in Canada statistics: time spent online and gaming
In 2022, 99.2% of Canadians aged 15 to 24 used the internet. A separate CIUS measure asked about time spent on activities during the preceding 3 months: 42% of youth aged 15 to 24 spent 20 hours or more per week on general internet use, while 15% spent that amount of time playing video games online. Statistics Canada, youth technology snapshot and CIUS Chart 1
| Population and activity during the preceding 3 months | 20 hours or more per week |
|---|---|
| Youth aged 15 to 24: general internet use | 42% |
| Youth aged 15 to 24: playing video games online | 15% |
| Canadians aged 15 and over: general internet use | 25% |
| Canadians aged 15 and over: playing video games online | 6% |
Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 1
General internet use in this chart excludes business- or school-related use, streamed video and video gaming services. Gaming appears in its own column, so the youth figures refer to distinct activities under the survey definitions. The table also includes Canadians aged 15 and over as a broader population reference using the same weekly threshold. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 1 and notes
Internet use and hours are different measures. The 99.2% figure indicates whether Canadians aged 15 to 24 used the internet during 2022; it does not show how much time they spent online. The weekly estimates identify respondents in the 20-hours-or-more category for the preceding 3 months. Statistics Canada, youth technology snapshot and CIUS Chart 1
Youth online activity in Canada statistics: differences in social networking, messaging and gaming
A Statistics Canada analysis of the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth reports online activity among adolescents aged 12 to 17, with estimates shown separately for girls and boys. For social networking several times a day, the estimates were 50.2% for girls and 41.5% for boys. The “constantly” category was 19.7% for girls and 11.8% for boys. Those are separate response categories, not a combined frequency measure. Statistics Canada, Table 1
The table reports a similar pair of frequency categories for video or instant messaging. Several-times-a-day use was 40.6% among girls and 31.9% among boys; constant use was 18.7% and 11.6%, respectively. The estimates describe frequency in the study’s categories and do not identify a particular service or explain respondents’ choices. Statistics Canada, Table 1
| Online activity and frequency, 2019 | Girls aged 12 to 17 | Boys aged 12 to 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Social networking several times a day | 50.2% | 41.5% |
| Social networking constantly | 19.7% | 11.8% |
| Video or instant messaging several times a day | 40.6% | 31.9% |
| Video or instant messaging constantly | 18.7% | 11.6% |
| Online gaming never | 66.9% | 21.8% |
| Online gaming several times a day | 4.2% | 20.9% |
Online gaming shows another frequency pattern in the 2019 study. Among girls aged 12 to 17, 66.9% reported never playing online games, compared with 21.8% of boys. Several-times-a-day online gaming was reported by 4.2% of girls and 20.9% of boys. These results concern frequency of online gaming in the adolescent study. They are distinct from the 2022 CIUS measure of whether youth played video games at all during a 3-month period. Statistics Canada, Table 1; Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 2
The study table includes confidence intervals alongside estimates. These findings apply to Canadian adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2019 and use the sex-specific categories as presented. They should not be read as current-year estimates or generalized to all youth age groups. Statistics Canada, study and Table 1
Youth online activity in Canada statistics: cybervictimization and harmful content
The 2022 CIUS asked youth aged 15 to 24 whether they felt they had been victims of online incidents during the preceding 12 months. Overall, 11% felt they had been victims of any online incident. The specific reported experiences included bullying, harassment or discrimination (6%), other online incidents (4%), and misuse of personal pictures, videos or other content (3%). These are self-reported perceptions. The survey notes that “other content” was not defined in the 2022 CIUS. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 5 and notes
The survey separately asked about seeing content respondents considered potentially harmful. Among youth aged 15 to 24, 74% reported seeing content that may incite hate or violence at least once in the past year. The frequency breakdown was 52% once a month to a few times a month, 23% once a year to a few times a year, and 25% not in the last year. Exposure does not show that respondents created, agreed with or shared the material. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 9 and “Youth exposure to harmful content online”
For intimate images or videos that may have been shared without the depicted person’s consent, 34% reported seeing them at least once in the past year. The frequency categories were 17% once a month to a few times a month, 17% once a year to a few times a year, and 66% not in the last year. The survey does not establish whether respondents knew the person depicted or the circumstances of sharing. Chart 9 excludes internet non-users, a scope detail for both exposure measures. Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 9 and “Youth exposure to harmful content online”
| Content seen by youth aged 15 to 24, 2022 | Once a month to a few times a month | Once a year to a few times a year | Not in the last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content that may incite hate or violence | 52% | 23% | 25% |
| Intimate images or videos that may have been shared without consent | 17% | 17% | 66% |
Statistics Canada, CIUS Chart 9
Youth online activity in Canada statistics: social media and content creation
The 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth infographic reports how often youth aged 12 to 17 did selected online activities. Social networking constantly or several times a day was reported by 74% of girls+ and 59% of boys+. For video or instant messaging, the corresponding percentages were 71% and 59%. Each value combines the “constantly” and “several times a day” responses, so it cannot be compared directly with the separate categories in the 2019 study. Statistics Canada, 2023 CHSCY infographic
For gaming constantly or several times a day, the infographic reports 33% for boys+ and 11% for girls+. The “Girls+” and “Boys+” categories include some non-binary respondents, as described in the infographic notes. The estimates cover youth aged 12 to 17 in the 2023 survey and use a combined frequency category. Statistics Canada, 2023 CHSCY infographic
The same infographic reports that 25% of youth in Canada were allowed to use an electronic device during the evening meal, compared with 18% of youth in Quebec. This measures household permission at a particular time, not internet access or a specific online activity. Statistics Canada, 2023 CHSCY infographic
A broader age range appears in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s 2025–2026 annual report, which cites MTM Jr. data. It reports that 7 in 10 Canadian children and youth aged 7 to 17 engage with social media every month. Among children and youth in that age range who use social media, 1 in 3 created social media content in the past week, including comments, photos and videos. The monthly engagement measure and past-week creation measure have different reference periods, and the latter applies to social media users. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, annual report, Figure 3
Sources
- Online safety and cyberbullying: youth and parent perspectives in Canada (2019 to 2024)
- Online activities of Canadian youth, cybervictimization and exposure to harmful content
- A day in the life of Canadian children and youth in 2023
- Online digital media use and adolescent mental health
- Championing privacy in the age of AI