A startling new report from Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has revealed that nearly one in four children aged five to seven now possess their own smartphone. This statistic is raising alarm bells about the potential risks associated with such young ages having unfettered access to the digital world.
Even more concerning, the study found a significant uptick in social media usage among this age group compared to just a year prior. A staggering 38% of five-to-seven year olds are now active on platforms like WhatsApp, despite age restrictions clearly prohibiting children under 13 from joining. Mark Bunting from Ofcom’s Online Safety Group warned that parental enforcement of such rules “appeared to be diminishing” across the board.
Beyond social media, the research painted a wider picture of escalating online engagement at shockingly young ages. 65% of kids in this bracket now use messaging apps like WhatsApp, up from 59% in 2022. Live streaming saw an 11 percentage point jump to 50%. And over 40% are gaming online, compared to just over a third last year.
Bunting labelled the findings a “wake up call” for the tech industry, who he accused of failing to properly safeguard their underage user bases. “Companies are now under a legal obligation to take steps to keep those children safe,” he stated firmly. Some child advocates are now calling for new age restrictions to be implemented around smartphone access entirely.
However, the ubiquity of devices among youngsters is being driven primarily by well-intentioned parents themselves. Most operators refuse to sell phones to minors lacking an adult’s consent. Parents often provide their kids with smartphones for contactability and location-tracking purposes. Yet they then struggle to curb unfettered exploration of apps clearly designed for older audiences when peer pressure takes over.
“All my son’s friends were on TikTok, so I felt pushed into a corner to let him join too,” one exasperated mother told us. “Monitoring everything he does is impossible.”
Despite the dangers, some parents feel the educational and social benefits of measured online access outweigh the risks for their children. Heather Bryson, 11, hosts popular exercise videos tailored for elderly viewers. Her father closely supervises her smartphone activities but views the device as “an important tool” that allowed his daughter to flourish.
“Being able to monitor exactly what she’s doing is paramount,” he said, admitting Heather occasionally receives “boys swearing at her” which is “not nice.” But she feels these negative interactions are “just something you get used to after a while.”
Only a third of parents could correctly cite age 13 as the minimum for most major platforms, Ofcom found. But even when aware of the rules, 30% admitted a willingness to let children as young as five create underage social media accounts regardless – up from 2022. Experts suggest caregivers are becoming “resigned” to their inability to fully control children’s digital lives.
The sobering report has reignited calls for major reforms. Clare Fernyhough of the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign believes society has “sleep-walked” into assuming smartphone ubiquity without considering “the huge impact that’s having.” Conversely, Professor Sonia Livingstone cautions against overcorrecting by restricting youth access, arguing this generation should be empowered to leverage technology’s educational potential safely.
“The companies are risky by design,” she said, “and what we need is child rights by design.”
Ofcom is now imploring tech firms to radically step up youth protection measures. It will soon consult on mandating specific safeguarding steps, as well as explore employing AI systems to scrub harmful content targeting children. The regulator also suggested the UK government may need to weigh legislating new age-based smartphone restrictions.
With the meteoric rise of internet-connected devices and platforms showing no signs of slowing, all stakeholders seem to agree urgent action is required. Striking the right balance between enabling youthful curiosity and enforcing guardrails to minimize the undeniable risks remains an immense societal challenge.