Around a fifth of the time children aged eight to 14 spend on YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp is between the hours of 9pm and 5am, the media watchdog has found
Around a fifth of the time children aged eight to 14 spend on YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp is between the hours of 9pm and 5am, the media watchdog has found.
Ofcom’s annual report, published on Wednesday, said a “significant amount of the time online spent by children is at night”.
Some 4-10% of their time across the four social media apps is spent between 11pm-5am, while 15-24% is between 9pm and 5am, depending on the platform, it said. They are the four of the main services used by children.
Some children raised concerns with Ofcom about wasting time consuming addictive “brain rot” content on social media, which is classed as material that is fast-paced, chaotic and often nonsensical.
READ MORE: Australia social media ban triggers demand in UK – but bad actor warning issued
One 13-year-old girl told the study: “I find it really hard to watch movies… So normally if I’m watching something on Netflix. I get really bored of it and I just go on my phone and I don’t even realise it, I’m just scrolling on TikTok then I look at the time and I’m like, ‘what the hell, I need to go to bed.’”
Elsewhere, Ofcom’s deep dive into the nation’s online habits found 58% of 11-17-year-olds saw bullying content online this year, 49% saw content related to hate, and 30% said they saw content encouraging them to do dangerous stunts or challenges.
But young people also found positive uses of the internet, with seven in ten (69%) 13–17-year-olds going online to support their wellbeing and nearly eight in ten (78%) saying the internet helps with schoolwork.
For adults, Ofcom’s report found Facebook continues to be the platform on which users are most likely to report encountering their most recent potential harm.
The report also found X, formerly Twitter, is the only top ten social media service where men are the predominant visitors.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also changing the UK’s search experience, with ChatGPT having 1.8 billion UK visits in the first eight months of 2025, up from 368 million in the same period last year (2024).
But Ofcom also found 5% of UK residents aged 16 and over reported not having internet access at home this year. This rises to 20% among those aged 75 and over.
It comes as the Government on Wednesday launched 80 local schemes to give free support to get people online. The projects have received backing from the £11.7million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund.
Minister for Digital Inclusion Liz Lloyd said: “This Government is tearing down the barriers to success and making the future work for all, not just the fortunate.”
Ofcom’s fieldwork was carried out before it enforced its children’s codes, in July. Its guidance advises tech firms on how to reduce harm to kids online, as required by the UK’s Online Safety Act.