Children in NI exposed to more ‘hateful content’ online than rest of UK

According to Ofcom’s latest annual study of children’s media and online lives, more parents than ever across the UK feel their children’s internet use now carries more risks than benefits.

While parents and carers are becoming more likely to trust their children with greater digital independence at a younger age, only 55% believe the benefits of internet use outweigh the associated risks – down from 65% in 2015.

The Ofcom study also examines gaming habits, concern over self-harm and social consciousness among children aged 5-15.

Findings for Northern Ireland are largely in line with the UK as a whole, however, 62% of NI children aged 12-15 have reported seeing hateful content, compared to the UK average of 51%. In 2016, the UK-wide figure was 34%

Hateful content has described as material “directed at particular groups of people, based on, for instance, their gender, religion, disability, sexuality or gender identity”.

Some of the other main findings include: 43% of NI parents are increasingly concerned about children seeing content which might encourage self-harm, and a rising number of children are becoming involved in online social activism around issues such as climate change, dubbed ‘the Greta effect’.

The Ofcom report states:

“Parents across the UK are increasingly concerned about their child seeing content which might encourage them to harm themselves (45%, up from 39% in 2018); consistent with the proportion of parents in Northern Ireland (43%).

“Similarly, two gaming-related problems are increasingly concerning parents: the pressure on their child to make in-game purchases of things like ‘loot boxes’, a virtual item containing rewards (47%, up from 40%); and the possibility of their child being bullied via online games (39%, up from 32%). Parents in Northern Ireland echo the proportions of those concerned about these across the UK.

“However, UK parents are now more likely than in 2018 to speak to their children about staying safe online (85%, up from 81%) - consistent with the proportion of parents in Northern Ireland doing so.

“UK parents are also nearly twice as likely to go online themselves for support and information about keeping their children safe than a year before (21%, up from 12%) – again, consistent with the proportion of parents in Northern Ireland.”

The report is based on around 3,500 interviews with children and parents across the UK.