May 20, 2020
Online Safety | Reports | UK
UK Online Safety Research: Communications regulator Ofcom publishes report on how 12-15 year old children consume Covid-19 news and information
UK Online Safety Research: With the proliferation of fake news surrounding Covid-19, communications regulator Ofcom has published a report on how 12-15 year old children consume Covid-19 news and information.
%
of children aged 12-15 are having difficulty finding reliable COVID-19 news and information
Consumption of news
48% claim to have used social media to access information about Covid-19.
YouTube (20%), Facebook/Facebook Messenger (20%) and Instagram (18%) were the most popular platforms being used.
A greater percentage of girls claim to have used Facebook or Facebook Messenger (25% girls vs. 15% boys), Snapchat (12% vs. 3%) and TikTok (14% vs. 6%) when accessing information.
49% of respondents use BBC TV to access Covid-19 news and information.
Attitudes to news
43% believe there ‘is too much in the news about Coronavirus’.
Family members are considered to be the most reliable source of information.
52% of children aged 12-15 are having difficulty finding reliable COVID-19 news and information.
87% of the respondents trust the BBC as a source of Covid-19 news and information.
Ofcom surveyed almost 500 12-15-year-old children to determine how they consume news and information related to Covid-19. This was part of a wider news consumption study. The survey was carried out between the 1st and 20th of April 2020.
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“ … A clear majority of 12-15 year old children agree that the crisis ‘is showing some good things about the country, like more support for the NHS’ (83%). Nearly half of respondents (48%) ‘strongly agree’ with this statement… ” Covid-19 news and information: 12-15 year old children’s news consumption and attitudes, Ofcom
