UK: most used online social media and apps for children and teens 2023
As of November 2023, TikTok was the most popular online platforms among children and teens aged between three and 17 years in the United Kingdom. Snapchat followed, with 36 percent of respondents reporting to use the chat app. Instagram ranked third, with around 30 percent of young users engaging with the popular social video platform as of November 2022.
What do UK kids do on their mobiles?
Apart from homework, research, and conducting school projects, kids look for entertainment on their phones. In 2022, YouTube was the most popular video app for younger audiences, with almost seven in 10 kids in the UK engaging with the popular social video platform. Despite YouTube’s popularity, downloads of the YouTube Kids app have experienced a decrease recently, going from 1.99 million downloads in 2020 to approximately 1.5 million downloads in 2022. Gaming was also a popular activity for the younger app usage generation, with seven in 10 UK kids reporting to use Roblox on their smartphones.
Tech for parents: helping children using apps in the best way
While institutions agree that kids’ online safety cannot be left to individuals alone, UK parents have been deeply concerned with what can be done with their personal forces to ensure online safety and privacy are respected. As of November 2022, 55 percent of parents of boys and 57 percent of parents of girls were aware of the possibility of asking their mobile phone networks to block access to adult or inappropriate content. Over two in 10 parents of kids aged between eight and 11 used parental control apps, but only about one in 10 parents of kids between three and 17 years of age reported doing the same.
