Ofcom has published an extensive report on how children in the U.K. are spending time online and interacting with media, finding that a majority of those under two years old are already engaging with screen activity.
Per the Children’s Online Experiences report, 65% of parents of children aged 6 months to 2 years say that their child goes online. Ownership of smartphones is at 56% among 10-year-olds, rising to 83% of 11-year-olds. Time spent online shows a similar scaling up as kids get older; kids 8 to 14 spend an average of one day a week online, but this rises to two days a week for 15 to 17-year-olds.
Meanwhile, live television, radio, and print media are “rarely” part of their routines as the bulk of media consumption happens via the phone, on social media, or in games. A particularly gutting nugget: reading for pleasure was “notably uncommon.” Worse: “many children,” Ofcom found, “had difficulty maintaining focus on longer texts or a lack of interest compared to more visual, interactive forms of media. While many children did take part in offline activities, these were often described as occupying only a small portion of their time.”
Harmful content is still making its way through gatekeepers; nearly 75% of 11- to 17-year-olds had seen some—”with little change since before online safety rules came into force,” Ofcom added. The problem is personalized feeds, Ofcom indicates. Nevertheless, most children 8 to 17 feel safe (81%) and happy (71%) on social media and messaging services at least most of the time. Parents are not as comfortable, with 40% thinking that the benefits of social media outweigh the risks and 38% disagreeing.
AI is being used by more than half of the 8 to 17-year-olds, rising to 66% among those 16 to 17-year-olds, for learning, creativity, and everyday tasks. Among 8- to 17-year-olds, 11% say they have used AI as someone to talk to or “as a friend.” Knowledge about how AI works, though, is lagging, with many kids unable to distinguish between different AI tools, and few questioning accuracy. Another distressing stat: 40% of teenage AI users say they would trust an AI-generated news article either as much as, or more than, one written by a human, compared to 43% who said they would trust it less. Just over half of the teens surveyed were confident they could recognize AI-generated content, but when tested, 25% of those confident users could not identify the AI content.
Despite the rise of creator tools, most kids would rather consume than create, opting mostly to read, watch, follow or ‘like’ content on social media platforms, with 34% saying they share, comment on, or post content. They’re spending time on TikTok and Instagram to scroll and watch short-form videos, and on Snapchat and WhatsApp to communicate.
Gaming is both an entertainment space and an opportunity for social engagement. Per the survey, 72% engage in online gaming in some form, either through a games console or online.
