This Ofcom report looks at media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 3-17. It also includes findings on parents’ views about their children’s media use, and how parents of children and young people aged 3-17 monitor and manage their children’s use.
The report reveals that a third of children aged five to seven use social media. This raises concerns about the safety of children online, as their use of social media increases the risk of them being subjected to predatory behaviour and online abuse.
The research showed that nearly all UK households with school-age children had internet access in the home, and that use of the internet was an integral part of children’s day-to-day lives, with increasingly little distinction between the worlds of ‘offline’ and ‘online’.
However, there remains a small but important minority of children who have limited access to adequate devices in the home for educational needs. Although the impact of limited online access and devices on schooling has lessened as home-learning has decreased, the extent to which children are going online to supplement their schoolwork and other learning activities shows the degree to which those without full and easy access to the internet may be missing out developmentally, socially and educationally.
Consumption of video content was almost ubiquitous in 2021, and was a cornerstone of children’s online lives, suggesting that children were using the internet more for entertainment than for communication. Children were more likely to watch online video content on video-sharing platforms apps and sites than they were to watch paid-for on-demand services or to watch broadcast television.