The statistics were compared by top media regulator Ofcom who showed significant differences in figures when surveying the UK population.
Nearly 50% of the users were between the ages of 3 and 17 and they made use of the app TikTok and Snapchat vigorously when compared to other leading social media platforms.
The figures collected were a part of the regulator’s yearly survey that involved both kids and their parents’ attitudes when using the web.
Moreover, we saw the study notice a small rise in both platforms’ popularity in 2022. And today, TikTok proved that 53% of kids are using the app while the figure is slightly less at 46% for kids. Both these platforms witnessed a rise from the previous years.
Both firms continue to face increased amounts of pressure regarding user safety in the past few months. The issue is alarming as so many governments around the globe are banning the app from devices owned by authorities. There is a great level of anxiety linked to the relationship it holds with China.
On the other hand, Snap was criticized for failing to remove underage users from its app.
This annual report by Ofcom also surveyed the online attitude of kids and parents regarding other leading apps such as YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp. But it was proven how the figures remained steady when compared with stats from the previous years,
Moreover, it was also interesting to note how there was a decline in popularity when looking at Meta’s Facebook app which went down from 40% to just 34% in a year’s time.
Kids of all ages were observed to watch the content of a dramatic theme in various mediums like television shows and even movies, the report continued to mention. Similarly, the regulator explained how there was a proportion of both 3 and 4-year-olds utilizing Snapchat and that had gone up to 17% in the year 2022. This is again up by 12% when compared to the previous year.
A representative from TikTok explained how the government’s bans were linked to a lot of fundamental misunderstandings regarding how the app functions and what safety protocols it has in place.
Moreover, one representative from Snap delineated how criticism regarding its records of younger audiences loving the app was misrepresenting the app’s efforts. It meant that the company has been working long and hard to block and remove countless attempts of young UK-based users to make accounts on Snapchat each month.
The situation is alarming because new studies have gone on to speak about how both of these apps and so many others are influencing the minds of youngsters in a negative manner.
Therefore, such platforms are advised to introduce policies that would help curb the exponential growth in viewership of such underage audiences.
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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World
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