Mediaboss Marketing

Feb 6 2014

More than half of children have used an online social network by the age of 10, according to a study.

Facebook tops the list of sites that children sign up to under-age, with 52% of eight to 16-year-olds admitting they had ignored the official age limit, the Social Age report for online safety advisory website Knowthenet found.

Other popular sites include WhatsApp, used by 40% of eight to 16-year-olds, BBM (24%), SnapChat (11%) and Ask.fm (8%).

The study found that although 59% of children are social networking by 10 years old, just 32% of parents feel "very confident" about helping them stay safe online.

The poll found 21% of children had posted negative comments, starting from an average age of 11, and 26% had "hijacked" another person's account and posted without permission.

Some 43% had messaged strangers, starting from an average age of 12.

The study suggests that children are most likely to post an image or video of themselves online or set up a fake profile for the first time at the age of 11, try Twitter and message a stranger at 12 and try services like SnapChat and Ask.fm at the age of 13.

Two thirds (67%) turn to their parents when they experience difficulties online, the poll found.

While 63% of parents check their child's internet activity at least once a week, more than a fifth (21%) are not confident they could install parental controls, and just under a half (46%) admit not being confident or aware of the school internet policy.

Original post:
Breaking News: Child social networking revealed