Ofcom: Harmful social media content still an issue
May 22, 2026



Ofcom has published its latest research into how children spend their time online and interact with different forms of media.

The media regulator’s Children’s Online Experiences report contains a wealth of findings about what children do when they’re online, and how they feel about their online activities and the content they encounter.


Children are using devices younger than ever

A majority of children under the age of two already use screens, and 65 per cent of parents of children aged 6 months to 2 years say that their child goes online. When asked whether their child ever looks at a screen, the vast majority (85 per cent) of parents say that they do. Ownership of smartphones increases as children get older, and rises sharply from 56 per cent of 10-year-olds to 83 per cent of 11-year-olds, underlying how starting senior school is the tipping point for many children getting their hands on their first smartphone.

As with phone ownership, time spent online rises steeply with age. Children aged 8–14 spend an average of one day a week online, but this rises to two days a week for 15 to 17-year-olds.

The offline world plays a diminishing role

Traditional forms of media and offline activities continued to be less popular with the children. Live television, radio and print media were rarely part of children’s routines, with most media consumption taking place on phones – mainly on social media or on games.

Reading for pleasure was notably uncommon, with many children saying they 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 remains an issue

Nearly three-quarters of 11–17s said they had seen harmful content online, with little change since before online safety rules came into force. Personalised feeds are the main reason for this, with 35 per cent of children saying they saw harmful content while scrolling their feed. Despite the risks of harmful content, most children aged 8-17 say they feel safe (81 per cent) and happy (71 per cent) on social media and messaging services at least most of the time. But parents are more divided – less than half (40 per cent) of parents of 8-17s believe the benefits of social media outweigh the risks, while 38 per cent disagree.

AI is widely used – but not well understood

AI is used by over half of 8-17s (56 per cent) – rising to 66 per cent of 16-17s – as well as being a factor in the content children consume. It’s used for learning, creativity and everyday tasks, and 11 per cent 8-17s say they have used AI as someone to talk to or ‘as a friend’.

However, there is limited understanding of how AI works. Many children didn’t appear to distinguish between different AI tools, and few questioned their accuracy. For example, 40 per cent of teenage AI users (aged 13-17) say they would trust an AI‑generated news article either as much as, or more than, one written by a human, compared to 43 per cent who said they would trust it less. While over half (52 per cent) of teenagers report feeling confident in their ability to recognise AI-generated content, when tested in practice, 25 per cent of those who said that they were confident were unable to correctly identify the AI-generated image shown to them.

Consuming content is more popular than creating it

Many children tend to consume content rather than create it. Two‑thirds (65 per cent) of 8-17s who use social media say they mainly read, watch, follow or ‘like’ content on social media platforms, compared to around a third (34 per cent) who say they share, comment on or post content Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram were primarily used by children for scrolling and short-form videos, while platforms like Snapchat and WhatsApp were used for communication.

Gaming provides a social space as well as a source of entertainment

Most of the children (72 per cent) engaged with online gaming in some form, with over half (55 per cent) of children aged 8-17 using a games console to go online and over seven in ten (72 per cent) say they game online. Most children play with friends, family, or people they know in person, but many say they also interact with people they have only met online: over half (55 per cent) say they do so at least sometimes, and one in five (20 per cent) say they do so frequently. Some children said gaming functioned as both entertainment and a social activity, allowing them to play with friends or meet new people online.