An annual survey of media habits, from Ofcom, reveals how under-age children use social media.
Children as young as five use social media, despite most platforms having rules users must be over the age of 13.
The report noted even younger children - TikTots as Ofcom dubbed them - were watching videos on TikTok, including 16% of the three- to four-year-olds. But the survey also found 22% of parents of three- to four year-olds and 38% of parents of eight- to 11-year-olds said they would allow their child to have a profile on social media before they reached the minimum age."Many children could be tactically using other accounts or 'finstas' - fake Instagrams - to conceal aspects of their online lives from parents," Ofcom suggested.
One in 20 children "circumvented parental controls put in place to stop them visiting certain apps and sites " Ofcom said.The key was "ensuring that we have a good awareness of the online environment, what tools that we can use in terms of parental controls, but also that we have conversations with our kids about what they're doing".Despite significant concerns, 53% of the 13- to 17-year-olds told Ofcom being online was good for their mental health, while 17% disagreed.
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