Study: 24% of UK Children Under 7 Own Smartphones

Facts

• According to a study published by the UK's communications regulator (Ofcom) on Friday, around a quarter (24%) of British children aged between five and seven have their own smartphone.¹
• Ofcom's study found that the proportion of these children using WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok had increased from 29% to 37%, 14% to 22%, and 25% to 30% respectively from a year ago.²
• The number of this age group consuming live-streamed content online increased from 39% to 50%, while more than 40% played online games, up from 34% last year.³
• Over half of children under 13 — the minimum age limit for using WhatsApp — were active on social media platforms, while a third of five to seven-year-olds reportedly used social media unsupervised.⁴
• The study comes as the UK government considers banning youth under 16 from accessing social media websites and teenagers from buying smartphones to make the country 'the safest place for children to be online.'⁵
• In February, the UK's Department for Education issued a comprehensive ban on children using mobile phones during school hours, reportedly to increase learning and in-person interaction.⁶

Sources: ¹Ofcom, ²The Telegraph, ³BBC News, ⁴TheFinancialTimes, ⁵The Mirror and ⁶The Times of India.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Guardian. The Ofcom study underscores the need to ban children as young as five from accessing social media or owning smartphones and tablets, as the practice increases their incidence of mental illness. The UK government must step up and introduce legal measures, including drawing up a safety code of practice, to ensure young children are protected from sexual predators, cyberbullying, and illegal content online.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. The fight against smartphones is neither necessary nor practical. Banning children from buying smartphones wouldn't stop parents from giving their offspring a handset. Moreover, with the advent of artificial intelligence, smartphones will become more enmeshed in every aspect of youngsters' lives. Instead of curtailing their digital rights, children must be made aware of the dangers of technology and taught how to use it safely.

Predictions