Younger internet users wary of social media but mostly happy with experiences

With Australia having made headlines for banning users under the age of 16 from social media, a study from Ofcom has highlighted worrying digital trends within younger demographics; with many encountering hateful content, spending money on scams, and surfing the internet into the early hours of the morning. However, the paper also found that they have an increasingly sceptical view of the technology, and are more willing than other generations to act against problematic content.

The Office of Communications is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and postal industries. The regulator has a statutory duty to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive material. As part of that, it has rolled out a new study titled ‘The Online Nation’.

Explores how adults and children in the UK experience life online, the study polled users on their everyday use of sites and apps, also asking how people feel about what they do, and what they encounter in the digital realm. And one of the headline figures resulting from that was Ofcom’s claim that on average, people in the UK have spent four hours and 30 minutes online every day in 2025 – 31 minutes longer than in 2021, when some Covid-era lockdown measures were still in play.

The survey found adults were feeling less positive about the impact of the internet overall, with just 33% feeling it was an overall "good for society" – falling from 40% in 2024. However, a contradictory two-thirds of people still believed the benefits of being online outweighed the risks – with many adults believing the internet is a source of creativity, and three-quarters agreeing that being online helped them to broaden their understanding of the world. This was reflected by communicative sites and apps being the most commonly used across all ages surveyed. While WhatsApp and Facebook topped the list for every group, and Google Maps was usually in third, for users between 18 and 34 years old, YouTube took that slot.

Younger users

In a week where much focus has been on Australia’s ban on social media use for people under 16 years old, however, Ofcom offered some interesting insights into the state of digital media’s impact on the UK’s own youth. Calls for the UK to implement its own ban have escalated this year, with one petition reaching 100,000 signatures.

But while Gen Z and Gen Alpha were often found to be encountering content which might be described as dangerous, respondents in those demographics were determined to shape the digital space – rather than to be shaped by its perceived negativity. Overall, 91% of children aged eight to 17 said they were happy with the things that they do online – and while seven-in-ten 11-17 year olds had seen or heard harmful content online in the last four weeks, Ofcom also found that 64% of them had taken action after encountering such content – including 15% who ‘disliked’ content to downvote its prominence, 11% who reported it to website admins, and 10% who either blocked the poster, or told an adult.

The survey took place before Ofcom implemented its Protection of Children Codes of Practice in July 2025 – which includes rules sites and apps must take steps to prevent children from encountering the most harmful content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography, with steps including age checks. So in 2026, the regulator might hope that the number of youngsters coming across harmful content will drop – but either way, the research does not paint a picture of an environment where an outright ban would necessarily help.

Teenagers mostly used social media and messaging apps to stay connected – with 72% of those aged 13-17 saying platforms help them feel closer to friends. Meanwhile, 69% of 13-17-year-olds went online to support their wellbeing. A 45% chunk said it helped them to relax, and 32% said it helped to lift their mood – while 78% said the internet could help with schoolwork, and 55% used it to learn new skills.

There were some worrying trends too. Late-night scrolling is common. Across four of the main services used by children – YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp – 15-24% of the time spent for the whole 8-14 age range happened between 9pm and 5am. At the same time, 58% of children aged 8-17 said they had spent money online in the past month, whether on social media sites, video-sharing platforms, or while they were gaming. Stating they had been encouraged to spend money in various ways online, 32% regretted the purchases they’d made in-game, and 43% regretted purchases made on social media – while 42% were unclear on what they even were buying in games.

These suggest there are ways Ofcom might better support young consumers – particularly relating to in-game purchases centring on ‘mystery items’ youngsters can purchase, which critics have often likened to under-age gambling. But an outright ban is unlikely to help Gen Z or Gen Alpha to develop the critical tools they need for adult life on the web, either. Especially when children already seem wary of many phenomena that adults want to safeguard them from anyway.

Ofcom noted of “fast-paced, chaotic, and often nonsensical” content which can “leave viewers overstimulated and disoriented” that some of the children the regulator spoke to “reflected on the negative impacts of spending too long scrolling on their smartphone. They used the term “brain rot” to describe both the type of content and the feeling it leaves behind.”