The quantity of youngsters utilizing TikTok and Snapchat rose last year in England, as per research distributed by media controller Ofcom.
According to data gathered as part of the watchdog’s annual survey of children’s and parents’ online attitudes, approximately half of those aged 3 to 17 use Snapchat and TikTok. The study found that TikTok is now used by 53% of children, up from 50%, and Snapchat by 46%, up from 42%, of children. Both apps have seen a slight rise in popularity over the past year.
In recent months, there has been growing concern about user safety at both businesses. Concerns about TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese government have led a number of governments around the world to prohibit it from official devices, while Snapchat has been criticized for not removing more users under the age of 18.
According to Ofcom’s annual report on attitudes toward media, children’s usage of YouTube, Whatsapp, and Instagram remained stable (respectively 88%, 55%, and 41%), whereas Meta’s Facebook platform’s popularity decreased from 40% to 34%.
Ofcom also found that in 2022, 17% of 3- and 4-year-olds would use Snapchat, up from 12% the year before. According to a TikTok spokesperson, the government bans were the result of some misconceptions regarding the safety procedures of TikTok.
According to a spokesperson for Snap, the company blocks and deletes tens of thousands of monthly attempts by underage UK users to create Snapchat accounts, contradicting criticism of its record on underage users.
