CYP Now - Children's Online User Ages Quantitative Research Study

Children and young people can get around age restrictions on social media apps and websites, increasing the risk of them coming to harm online. To understand the extent to which children are bypassing age checks, UK communications regulator Ofcom commissioned research to get an idea of how many children have online profiles that make them appear older than they actually are.

Many survey participants said they had set up their social media profiles without using their actual date of birth. Picture: Samuel/Adobe Stock

Full report: Children’s Online User Ages Quantitative Research Study

Published by: Ofcom, October 2022

METHOD

The research focused on the six social media platforms most used among children and young people aged eight to 17, according to previous research by Ofcom. These are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter. Users are supposed to be aged 13 or over to access these platforms. The study involved a survey of 1,039 young social media users carried out in July 2022 looking at use of the platforms by different age groups, the process of setting up profiles and children's understanding of age limits.

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