Research on the risks associated with children’s use of the internet often aims to inform
policies of risk prevention. Yet paralleling the effort to map the nature and extent of online risk
is a growing unease that the goal of risk prevention tends to support an over-protective, riskaverse
culture that restricts the freedom of online exploration that society encourages for
children in other spheres. It is central to adolescence that teenagers learn to anticipate and
cope with risk – in short, to become resilient. In this article, we inquire into children and
teenagers’ responses after they have experienced online content or contact risks. PanEuropean
findings show that especially in Northern European countries with high internet
access, parental perception of likelihood of online risk to their child is negatively associated
with their perceived ability to cope. A comparison of representative surveys conducted
among children in three relatively ‘high risk’ countries (Norway, Ireland and the United
Kingdom) found that although the frequency of exposure to perceived online risks, especially
content risks, is fairly high, most children adopt positive (e.g. seek help from friends) or, more
commonly, neutral (e.g. ignoring the experience) strategies to cope, although a minority
exacerbate the risks (e.g. passing risky content on to friends). Most strategies tend to
exclude adult involvement. Significant differences in both risk and coping are found by
gender and age across these countries, pointing to different styles of youthful risk
management.