According to a survey conducted by the IT industry association Bitkom, young people frequently present a more happy version of themselves online than they are in reality. Notably, a quarter of respondents aged 16 to 29 admitted (25 percent) to portraying themselves as happier in the digital world than in their actual lives. Furthermore, more than half of this age group (53 percent) indicated that projecting a generally positive online impression is important to them.
These statistics were found to be significantly higher among the youngest respondents compared to older age groups. Among those over 30, only eleven percent stated that they present themselves as happier online. Additionally, only 28 percent of this group feel the need to project a positive overall image online.
Beyond presenting a happier facade, young people also more often report exaggerating traits such as feeling more self-confident, interesting, or social (each cited by 24 percent). They also tend to portray themselves as more beautiful and fun (18 percent each), more successful (11 percent), or more athletic (10 percent). Surprisingly, only 29 percent of those aged 16 to 29 claim that their online persona differs from their real life, compared to 65 percent of those over 60.
For this study, Bitkom Research surveyed 1,449 internet users across Germany who were 16 years of age or older. The survey collected data during the third and fourth calendar weeks of 2026.
