UK parents found to be most concerned about kids internet safety, as almost 1 in 5 spend half their day on the web

1 in 4 UK parents believe their kids have an unhealthy relationship with the internet, according to new global report from Mozilla and YouGov

• 15% of UK children spend 5-10 hours a day on the internet, the majority using it for games and video entertainment
• UK parents (71%) are most concerned about inappropriate content on the internet and most likely to set parental controls (64%)
• This is despite the fact 40% of UK parents introduced the internet to their children by 5 years old
• Almost all UK parents (94%) are concerned that big tech is a harmful influence on their children’s online safety

Mozilla and YouGov have released a new global report, which looks at children’s use of the internet and parental concerns. The report sampled 3,699 respondents and surveyed parents in the UK, US, Canada, Germany and France, with children aged 5-17.

The report comes in the wake of developments in the Online Safety Bill to include an AI age verification policy to prevent children accessing inappropriate websites. According to a recent report by Ofcom, one in three children has gained access to adult content on social media platforms by lying about their date of birth to circumvent restrictions.

Almost 1 in 5 UK children spend 5-10 hours a day on the internet and they’re starting young 

In the UK, 15% of children spend between 5-10 hours a day on the internet, with the majority of that time spent gaming (75%) or watching video entertainment (73%). More than half (52%) spend 2-4 hours a day online.

While on average, children in the UK are introduced to the internet at 6 years old, 40% of UK parents introduced the internet to their children by the age of 5. This is younger than Germany and France, where the average age is 7 and 8 years respectively. 

UK parents are most likely to set restrictions on online content 

Almost half of UK parents (41%) don’t believe their children can sufficiently protect themselves online, and two thirds (64%) set parental restrictions on the type of content their children can access. Almost three quarters of UK parents (71%) are concerned about the type of content their children have access to online, while 1 in 4 (25%) believe their children have an unhealthy relationship with the internet and over a third (34%) claim the internet is unsafe. 

The top online concerns for parents are exposure to inappropriate content (71%), online predators (53%), and cyber-bullying (46%). Cyberbullying also skews higher amongst children aged between 10-13 in the UK. Less than a fifth (17%) were concerned with addiction to online bingeing. UK parents were least concerned about their children’s data being tracked, compared to the other countries surveyed (54%).

The results speak to a wider sentiment amongst almost all UK parents (94%) who claim that big tech does not have their children’s best interests in mind when creating products.

Kushall Amlani, global competition and regulatory counsel for Mozilla, said: “The Online Safety Bill is a good first step in tackling harmful misinformation, but it needs to be done in a meaningful way by way of more oversight in content moderation decisions and holding social media companies accountable. Our survey found that 94% of UK parents don’t trust big tech, which speaks volumes.

Mozilla has always been committed to building a better internet for everyone, which means one that is safe for children. If we look at the increasing role the internet plays in children’s daily life and accounts for all platforms, it’s clear governments need to double down on age verification methods and illegal content to help give parents peace of mind when their children are spending time online unsupervised.”

Download the full report here

Methodology: The study was conducted between the 21st-29th September 2022 via an online questionnaire. The report surveyed parents based in the USA, Germany, France and the UK, aged between 25 to 55, with children aged 5 to 17. All figures are weighted based on the general population, taking into account the age, sex, geographical region and education level of respondents.