New HMD research: Growing up in a digital world - Are teens safe online?

New HMD study highlights what teens and pre-teens are experiencing online – the risks are high, but HMD is showing up with new solutions

The more the online world grows, the less we know about the dangers and capabilities of others on the web. This is something parents have struggled with since the introduction of the internet, but more so now than ever with the seemingly endless number of social media platforms and access that children have to dangerous content and people online, or the access that those things have to your children.

Because of this, parents have battled with the decision to give their children a fully capable adult smartphone with several risk-factors including unrestricted internet access, social media pressure and the introduction to a possible digital addiction or to keep them away and disconnected. It is clear that a solution was needed, not just from parents but from the digital and mobile industry as well.

To find out more, we commissioned a survey of nearly 25,000 participants (both parents and children) from all around the world (UK, Germany, US, Australia, India and UAE)¹. The results were equally surprising and scary with it clear that this was a growing crisis that needed intervention at a global level.

More than half of children worldwide have been regularly contacted online by someone they don’t know¹

After surveying nearly 25,000 parents and children worldwide, we knew something needed to be done. Based on the shocking results, we concluded that more than half of children worldwide (close to 556 million¹) have been regularly contacted online by someone they don’t know. For parents, this is a scary statistic that encourages their rightful hesitation towards handing their teens and children a smartphone.

The global study also found that:

• 51% of children have been contacted online by strangers.
• One in three has been encouraged to take conversations to private chat rooms or messaging apps.
• 56% of kids report being insulted or made to feel small online.
• 40% have been sent sexual or violent content.
• 52% of children feel addicted to their screens.

These statistics have come as government bodies worldwide have decided to put their foot down to help regulate the issue. This includes the UK government encouraging further regulation for online risks and the Australian government ban social media for those under 26 years old. It is clear to us that it is not enough and that those within the tech space need to work with parents, children, government bodies and each other to move towards a clearer solution to this issue.

We are taking input and guidance directly from people who face this issue first-hand

You may remember our previous efforts with the HMD Better Phone Project. Within this project we commissioned a separate worldwide survey of close to 11,000 parents to find out about experiences with giving their child a smartphone. The study found that the average age that children got their first smartphone was at age 11 but 54% of parents wished they’d waited longer². Parents also claimed that their children were sleeping worse, exercising less and not willing to socialize in the ‘real-world’.² These results should not be normal.

We listened to parents, children/teens and experts all throughout our global studies and the Better Phone Project in order to work towards the next steps of hopefully finding a solution to the problem. From this, we are launching two new devices in 2025, including the just-announced HMD Fusion X1.

For teens staying safer online starts with the right phone: introducing the HMD Fusion X1

The HMD Fusion X1 is a phone inspired by the input and feedback from thousands of parents and teens. The HMD smartphone is intended to be a phone that teens want to use and that their parents can trust and will want them to have. The HMD Fusion X1 boasts incredible features that parents will love, including:

• Real time location – track your teen’s location in real time as their location updates every 24-seconds
• Safe zones – set up to 10 separate safe zones and get notifications when your teen enters or exits them
• Retrace steps – views the last three days of their location history
• Contact list approvals – know who your teen is talking to by pre-approving their contacts³
• Screen-time and app downloads – manage app installations and set screen time limits/schedules
• Easily repairable – easily repair/replace parts like a broken screen or dead battery at home with iFixit repair kits⁴

The smartphone also has exciting features that your teen will love, including:

• Cool outfits including the HMD Fusion Flashy Outfit (perfect for photos) and the HMD Fusion Gaming Outfit (perfect for those who game on the go) 5 that let you customize and extend your phone.
• Amazing camera capabilities – teens can enjoy a 108MP back camera, 50MP front camera and fun selfie-gestures and selfie slo-mo.
• A sleek and repairable design that is sure to impress – yes that’s right, a repairable phone you can fix yourself if, for example, you need to replace a broken screen.
• Screen time requests – think your parents locked your screen time too soon? Ask for more directly from your smartphone

Share your opinion with us!

We want to hear from you! Share you opinion on these research findings with us in the comments on Instagram here. If you’re interested in reading more about the HMD Fusion X1 find more information here. In case you missed them, you can read more about the rest of our exciting MWC 2025 announcements here. Or check out the video from the event below!