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a blind spot
Claire Lilley and Ruth Ball
Contents
Foreword
Executive Summary
11
13
13
14
16
17
Frequency
17
Actions taken
19
20
21
Section 5: Recommendations
25
27
28
Appendix 3: Quotations
30
Foreword
At around 11 years old, most children in the UK leave
behind the familiarity of their local primary school and
begin travelling to a much larger secondary school
with many new faces and many new pressures, social
and personal as well as educational. To speed up the
process of adjustment, to find new friends quickly and
to ensure they are accepted by their peers, around
half join social networking sites even though they
are below the age intended or catered to by those
sites. As the NSPCCs timely report reveals, the
consequences can be troubling, with an estimated
one in four 11 and 12 year olds having been upset on
a social networking site.
This report raises an equally timely question, what
should be done? Facebook (the most commonly used
site) protects those who declare themselves under 18,
but to avoid the difficulty of gaining parental consent
for those under 13 (required by the USAs Childrens
Online Privacy Protection Act), they assume no under
13s have a profile. As a result, many young children
spend time in an environment designed for older teens
and adults. If they must have claimed an age over 18
to access the site, their profiles could be public and
fully searchable by anyone.
Executive Summary
Now, of course, a free and open internet is vital. But in no other market and with no other industry do we
have such an extraordinarily light touch when it comes to protecting our children. Children cant go into
the shops or the cinema and buy things meant for adults or have adult experiences; we rightly regulate to
protect them. But when it comes to the internet, in the balance between freedom and responsibility weve
neglected our responsibility to children So weve got to be more active, more aware, more responsible
about what happens online. And when I say we I mean we collectively: governments, parents, internet
providers and platforms, educators and charities.
David Cameron, speech on 24 July 20131
Many providers ban users under 13 and apply particular technical protection mechanisms and moderated
services for minors under 18. However, age restrictions are only partially effective. Fewer younger than
older children use social networking sites, but many underage children are still using these services. It
seems clear that measures to ensure that under-aged users are rejected or deleted from the service are
not successful on the top social networking site services used by children in Europe.
UKCCIS Evidence Group2
59%
of the UKs 1112 year-olds
with internet access have
a profile on a social
networking site
23%
of these have experienced
something that has upset them
1 in 4
thats nearly
18%
of these
felt upset or scared for
weeks or months after
the incident occurred
23%
of 11 and 12 year olds with
a social networking site profile
say that they have been
upset by something
on it over the last year.
1 in 5
62%
of these experiences
were caused by
strangers or people they
only knew online
4 Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom; Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Grzig, A., &
lafsson, K. (2010). Risks and safety for children on the internet: the UK report. LSE, London: EU Kids Online. Available at: http://
eprints.lse.ac.uk/33730/
5 See appendix 2 for how these figures were calculated. This figure does not take into account the number of children under 11 years
old who have social networking profiles on sites with a minimum age of 13.
Younger children and social networking sites
63%
Facebook
45%
YouTube
1% Chatroulette
3% Habbo Hotel
3% Pinterest
30%
4% Tumblr
15%
8% Instagram
Google Plus+
Moshi Monsters
28%
Twitter
28%
Club Penguin
NSPCC research, December 2012. Base: children aged 1112 years who had a social networking account.
10
6 See appendix 2 for how these figures were calculated. This figure does not take into account the number of children under 11 years
old who have social networking profiles on sites with a minimum age of 13
7 Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom. P. 85. Age 10 = 19%; age 11 = 40%.
8 Blakemore, S.J. (2010) The Developing Social Brain: Implications for Education. Neuron 65, March 25 2010.
9 Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Grzig, A., & lafsson, K. (2010). Risks and safety for children on the internet: the UK report. LSE,
London: EU Kids Online. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/33730/
Younger children and social networking sites
11
23%
of 11-12
11-12 year-old
year-old SNS
SNS users
users
of
experienced something
something that
that had
had
experienced
upset them
them
upset
23%
23%
Facebook
Facebook
19%
19%
Youtube
Youtube
6%
6%
Moshi Monsters
Monsters
Moshi
19%
19%
Twitter
Twitter
5%
5%
Club Penguin
Penguin
Club
Source: NSPCC research. Base: All 1112 year olds who had a social
networking account: Facebook: 171; YouTube: 119; Twitter: 60; Moshi
Monsters: 70; Club Penguin: 64. We have only included the five most popular
sites as the sample size for other sites was too small.
13
Upsetting
experience
Trolling
Agressive or
violent language
11-12 year-olds
13-16 year-olds
45%
34%
23%
16%
23%
22%
22%
17%
10%
6%
Source: NSPCC research. Base: all 11 and 12 year olds who experienced something that upset them
14
Somebody asked
me what school I
go to and I didnt
tell them.
Boy, 11
11 A specific category of cyber-stalking was introduced in 2012 in response to the increasing number of children contacting ChildLine
about the issue.
12 Harker, L., Jutte, S., Murphy, T., Bentley, H., Miller, P., Fitch, K., (2013) How safe are our children? London: NSPCC, pp29.
Younger children and social networking sites
15
62%*
of cases involved someone
the child only knew online,
a complete stranger, or
the child did not know
who it was at all
22%
child who I only
know online
20%
complete
stranger
16%
dont know
2%
group of children
I only know online
2%
adult I met
online
26%
child who is/was
my friend
face-to-face
18%
group of children
who are/were
my friends
4%
another group
of people
2%
adult I know
face-to-face
2%
my boyfriend
or girlfriend
16
Frequency
3% dont know
20%
Every day or
almost every day
37%
12%
Less than
once
a month
Once a week
(at least)
28%
Once a month
(at least)
17
Actions taken
When they have been upset or bothered by something
on a social networking site, the responses of younger
children tend to be less assertive than older children.
The disparities are striking: the 11 and 12 year olds
were significantly more likely than older children to
stop using the website for a while (34 per cent vs. 19
per cent) and to stop using the internet for a while
(14 per cent vs. 3 per cent), and proportionately
more likely to shut down their account completely
(12 per cent vs. 8 per cent) as a response to what
they experienced.
I was abused on YouTube when I commented on
a video someone had uploaded, so I no longer
comment on there.
13 Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom. pp94 The report does not provide a figure
for younger children.
14 Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Grzig, A., & lafsson, K. (2010). Risks and safety for children on the internet: the UK report. LSE,
London: EU Kids Online. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/33730/
15 Professor Sonia Livingstone, speaking at Digital Youth Symposium held in Dublin, Nov 02, 2012. Recording available at: http://
www.dit.ie/digitalyouth/video/
Younger children and social networking sites
19
16 Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Grzig, A., & lafsson, K. (2010). Risks and safety for children on the internet: the
UK report. LSE, London: EU Kids Online. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/33730/
17 Livingstone, S., lafsson, K. & Staksrud, E. (2013) Risky Social Networking Practice Among Underage Users: Lessons for
Evidence-Based Policy The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 18 (2013) 303320 pp310
18ibid.
19 boyd, d., Hargittai, E., Schultz, J., & Palfrey, J. (2011). Why parents help their children lie to Facebook about age: Unintended
consequences of the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act.. First Monday, 16(11).
20 20% parents do not know there is a minimum age requirement, 5% parents know there is a minimum age requirement but are
unsure of the exact age, 8% parents believe there is no minimum age requirement, 11% parents know there is a minimum age
requirement but think that it is under 13. In contrast 24% parents think correctly that the minimum age requirement is 13, and 31%
parents believe that it is over 13. Source: Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom.
20
Minimum
age Instagram
Google Plus+
13
Parental verification
required (email) for
children under 13
Minimum age
13
Moshi Monsters
Habbo Hotel
You Tube
Tumblr
No minimum age,
but aimed at
6-14 year-olds
Minimum age
18
Club Penguin
Chatroulette
21
22
23
Section 5: Recommendations
They dont check that some one is the age they say.
Recommendations to keep
younger children safer on
social networking sites
1. Social networking sites should acknowledge
that large numbers of children under the age
of 13 are using their sites. From this should
follow a range of activities that would increase the
protection offered to younger children:
a. Social networking sites which have a minimum
age should be transparent about what that age
is, do more to make parents aware of what
the age is, and to make parents aware of the
particular risks younger children face on their
site. The providers of the most popular social
networking sites in the UK should also do more
to keep underage users off their sites.
b. Providers should ensure there is a range of
options for how to report illegal or offensive
or bullying content or behaviour, and these
should be tested by children of a range of
ages to ensure that they are easy to find and
use, and that there is no skill barrier involved
25
30 http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/industry%20guidance%20%20%20social%20networking.pdf
31 Livingstone, S., lafsson, K. & Staksrud, E. (2013) Risky Social Networking Practice Among Underage Users: Lessons for
Evidence-Based Policy The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 18 (2013) 303320.
32 Livingstone, S. Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: teenagers use of social networking sites for intimacy,
privacy and self-expression. New Media & Society 10.3 (2008): 393411.
26
27
Population Data
Our estimates are based on 2012 mid-year population
estimates that is available for all four nations of
the UK and is based on the 2011 census. Data for
England and Wales was downloaded from the Office
for National Statistics website; Northern Ireland data
is from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research
Agency and Scottish data is from the General Register
Office. The table shows the data we used.
28
Number
13,524,338
England
Wales
NI
Scotland
Total 9 year olds UK
10 year olds
582,500
31,900
21,828
52,757
688,985
583,000
32,000
22,000
53,000
689,000
England
Wales
NI
Scotland
Total 10 year olds UK
11 year olds
571,400
31,900
21,939
52,644
677,883
571,000
32,000
22,000
53,000
678,000
England
Wales
NI
Scotland
Total 11 year olds UK
12 year olds UK
586,200
33,300
22,166
54,785
696,451
586,000
33,000
22,000
55,000
696,000
England
Wales
NI
Scotland
Total 12 year olds UK
601,900
34,200
23,057
56,171
715,328
602,000
34,000
23,000
56,000
715,000
Number
1,367,000
1,312,320
367,000
696,000
668,160
394,000
715,000
707,850
418,000
812,000
666,000
Source
Govt population Stats
Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom
EU Kids Online, UK report, pp. 21
Govt population Stats
Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom
EU Kids Online, UK report, pp. 21
Govt population Stats
Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom
EU Kids Online, UK report, pp. 21
According to Ofcom 96 per cent of all 8 to 11 year olds and 99 per cent of all 12 to 15 year olds have access to
the internet33. The EU Kids Online study found that 59 per cent of 11 and 12 year olds who use the internet have
a profile on a social networking site34. New NSPCC research found that 82 per cent of 11 and 12 year olds who
have a profile on a social networking site have at least one profile on a site which has a minimum age of at least
13. These percentages have been applied to the total number of 11 and 12 year olds in the UK and suggest that
about 666,000 of them (almost half of the total) have a profile on a site which has a minimum age of at least 13.
33 Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom.
34 Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Grzig, A. & lafsson, K. (2010) Risks and safety for children on the internet: the UK report. LSE,
London: EU Kids Online. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/33730/
Younger children and social networking sites
29
Appendix 3: Quotations
Quotations in this report have been sourced from
one of:
The NSPCCs online survey of 1024 children,
conducted in December 2012.
ChildLine Snapshots: these are created from real
ChildLine contacts but are not necessarily direct
quotes from theyoung person.
Pupils at Chadwell Health Academy in Essex
our thanks to those who took part in the focus
groups there.
All potentially identifying details have been changed to
protect the identity of the child or young person.
30