Ottawa, ON - November 3, 2022 - New research conducted during the pandemic by MediaSmarts found that close to nine in 10 Canadian youth (86%) ages nine to 11 have an account on at least one platform that requires users to be 13 or older, and almost half of young people are worried they spend too much time online.
New research conducted during the pandemic by MediaSmarts found almost half of Canadian youth (47%) ages 12 to 17 see racist or sexist content online at least once a week. These findings are shared in MediaSmarts’ new Encountering Harmful and Discomforting Content Online report, which is the second in a series of reports in the latest phase of Young Canadians in a Wireless World, a national survey of 1,058 youth ages 9 to 17 conducted in Autumn 2021.
January 24, 2023 - MediaSmarts is releasing new research today, during Data Privacy Week, which shows that youth are more aware than ever of privacy concerns online and want to take steps to protect their own privacy, but they don’t always know how.
Ottawa, ON (Feb. 21, 2023) - New research conducted during the pandemic by MediaSmarts found 32% of young Canadians ages nine to 17 have experienced online meanness and cruelty, 49% have witnessed it, and 17% have engaged in this behaviour.
September 20, 2023 – Our online environments present unique challenges: extremism, online hate and the spread of misinformation and AI-generated deepfakes, just to name a few. But studies have shown that it takes just 10 percent of the people in a community to set its values. Spreading positive content can have a real impact.
October 23, 2023 – With the rise of AI-generated deepfakes and an increase in online hate and harassment, people of all ages need to be equipped with the skills to navigate and contribute positively to our complex media landscape.
March 11, 2024 - MediaWise, the Poynter Institute’s media literacy initiative, is partnering with MediaSmarts, a Canadian non-profit organization, to launch North America’s second
OTTAWA — April 7, 2026 — On World Health Day, MediaSmarts is highlighting new results from its Resilience Through DigitalSmarts program, which helps survivors of technology-facilitated violence—also known as online or digital abuse—build the digital media literacy skills needed to safely participate in today’s online world.