A third of children aged between eight and 17 with social media profiles have registered with a false date of birth, so they appear to be over 18, according to research.
See also: Amazon "kills" the Glow video calling device for kids
Commissioned by Ofcom, the Yonder Consulting study found that 77% of children in this age range have at least one social media profile, with 60% of under-12s having their own profile, despite most sites having a minimum age requirement of 13.
Many internet safety activists have called for the creation of more age verification tools on internet platforms to better protect children from potentially harmful content.
See also: LEGO Group and Epic Games collaborate on a safe metaverse for children
Ofcom said it was concerned about the findings because it means many children could be at greater risk of encountering age-inappropriate or harmful content online, and while many platforms have restrictions on accounts for younger users, these are removed if the account holder is “appeared” to be older .
The study estimates that around 47% of children aged eight to 15 with social media profiles have set their age as 16 or older, while 32% of children aged between eight and 17 have set their age as 18 or older.
Within this data, it also estimates that around 23% of younger social media users – aged between eight and 12 – had profiles with an age of 18 or over, meaning these children could have access to material aimed at adults.
Some platforms, such as pornographic websites, may also be required to implement age verification methods to prevent children from accessing their content .
A further piece of Ofcom research found that parents and children are largely supportive of the introduction of age.
See also: Gifts for children: Smart toys may not be a good choice
Mark Bunting, director of online policy at Ofcom, said: “Protecting children is at the heart of the new online safety laws, so as we prepare for our new responsibilities, we continue to build our evidence on children’s online experiences.”
Source of information: independent.co.uk
