Around a quarter of 5-7 year olds (24%) now own a smartphone, while three-quarters use a tablet (76%).
This shocking statistic comes from Ofcom’s annual study of children’s relationship with the media and online worlds.
Key findings show:
- 5- to 7-year-olds are becoming increasingly present online
- compared to boys, girls are more likely to say they have experienced ‘nasty or hurtful’ interactions in some online spaces
- children across all age groups perform potentially risky behaviours online
- children’s caution about what they share publicly online has increased
- young people are finding it harder to identify what information to trust on social media compared to last year.
Three-quarters of parents of children aged 5-7 who go online say they have talked to their child about staying safe online, and over half do so at least every few weeks.
While online safety education is important in keeping young people safer online, under the Online Safety Act tech firms have a legal responsibility to keep children safer online.
Methods to implement the new laws include:
- Consultation in May on Ofcom's draft Children’s Safety Code of Practice. This will set out the practical steps that tech firms are expected to take to ensure children have safer experiences online.
- Planning an additional consultation later this year on how automated detection tools, including AI, can be used to mitigate the risk of illegal harms and content most harmful to children - including previously undetected child sexual abuse material and content encouraging suicide and self-harm.
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