1、Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report 2018 Making sense of media Published 29 January 2019 1 Overview This report (and the accompanying annexes) examines childrens media literacy. Ofcoms definition of media literacy is the ability to use, understand and create media and communications

2、 in a variety of contexts. The report is a reference for industry, stakeholders and the general public. The Communications Act 2003 placed a responsibility on Ofcom to promote, and to carry out research in, media literacy. This report on children and parents contributes to Ofcoms fulfilment of this

3、duty. Drawing largely on our quantitative Children and Parents Media Literacy Tracker, the report provides detailed evidence on media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 5-15, as well as detailed information about media access and use by young children aged 3-4. The

4、 report also includes findings relating to parents views about their childrens media use, and the ways that parents seek or decide not to monitor or limit use of different types of media. This report also draws on several other research sources, detailed in the annex, to provide an overarching narra

5、tive on childrens media experience in 2018. Key findings TV sets and tablets dominate device use, but time spent watching TV on a TV set (broadcast or on demand) is decreasing The viewing landscape is complex, with half of 5-15s watching OTT television services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and N

6、ow TV YouTube is becoming the viewing platform of choice, with rising popularity particularly among 8-11s. Within this, vloggers are an increasingly important source of content and creativity Online gaming is increasingly popular; three-quarters of 5-15s who play games do so online Social media can

7、bring a combination of social pressures and positive influences TV and social media are important sources of news, but many have concerns over the accuracy and trustworthiness of news on social media A majority of online 12-15s think critically about websites they visit, but only a third correctly u

8、nderstand search engine advertising 2 Children are still being exposed to unwanted experiences online, but almost all recall being taught how to use the internet safely There has been an increase in parents of 12-15s and of 12-15s themselves saying that controlling screen time has become harder; how

9、ever most 12-15s consider they have a struck a good balance between this and doing other things Parental concerns about the internet are rising, although parents are, in some areas, becoming less likely to moderate their childs activities 3 Media Lives by age: a snapshot Below is a snapshot of how c

10、hildren use and interact with media devices and services, split by age. 4 Summary of key findings TV sets and tablets dominate device use As in 2017, there are two devices that continue to be used by a majority of children in each age group: television sets (used by 94% of 3-4s and 97% of 5-15s) and

11、 tablets (used by 58% of 3-4s and 76% of 5-15s). The only media devices that 5-15s are using more than in 2017 are smart TV sets (six in ten now use one), while a rise in tablet ownership among 5-7s means that 42% of this age group now have one of their own, up from 35% the previous year. Compared t

12、o last year, among 5-15s overall there has been a decrease in the use of computers, laptops, netbooks, games consoles and DVD/ Blu-ray players. This continues a trend of declining use of these devices over several years. As last year, more than nine in ten (92%) children aged 5-15 go online using an

13、y type of device, and this increases with age, ranging from 52% of 3-4s to 99% of 12-15s. Around six in ten 5-15s use a tablet or a laptop or to go online, while half use a mobile phone. However, time spent watching TV on a TV set is decreasing Although TV sets are used by almost all children, TV vi

14、ewing on the TV set appears to be of lessening importance. Our Media Literacy Tracker shows that compared to 2017, the estimated time spent watching television content on a TV set (whether broadcast or on demand) in a typical week has decreased by about one hour for 3-4s, 8-11s and 12-15s. These fin

15、dings have been supported by other data sources used in the report; BARB data show that children aged 4-15 watched an average of just over ten hours of broadcast television per week in 2017, down by just under two hours per week since 2016. The decline is a continuation of longer- term annual falls

16、in weekly viewing: in 2017 the decline was greater than in 2016 (at just over an hour) while in 2015 viewing fell by 45 minutes. Looking at the underlying behaviour behind this decline in TV viewing on a TV set, our Media Lives research shows that in general, consuming content is becoming a more sol

17、itary activity, with many children watching on their mobiles. Live TV viewing is increasingly limited to appointment to view programmes such as live sport e.g. the 2018 World Cup, or popular must-see shows such as Love Island. 5 The question arises: Where has this time, previously spent watching TV

18、on a TV set, gone? We can see that time spent online has increased among 3-4 year-olds (by 1 hour) and time spent gaming has risen among 12-15s (by 1.5 hours). For the first time, 8-11s join 12-15s in spending more time on the internet than watching TV on a TV set. The viewing landscape is complex,

19、with half of 5-15s watching OTT television services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now TV on any device For the first time in this study we asked about childrens viewing of over the top (OTT) TV services1. One third of 3-4s (32%) and half of all 5-15s (49%) say they use OTT television services

20、 like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now TV. BARB data show that although live TV viewing declined in 2017, for children, unmatched viewing2 on the TV set which includes viewing of video-on-demand services such as Netflix increased. So children are not only spending less time using the TV set overa

21、ll, they are watching different types of content when they do use it. With the proliferation of services offering TV content, children are viewing a very wide range of content. While films are the most-mentioned favourite content on OTT television services among 5- 15s, particularly among 12-15s, it

22、 is the variety of content that children watch via these services that is notable. Among children aged 5-15 no single programme, box set, film or other type of content was nominated as a favourite by more than one in ten respondents. In terms of attitudes towards this content, a majority of 12-15s w

23、ho watch OTT content (71%) think that their favourite programme is age appropriate (either aimed at people their age, people younger than them, or aimed at everyone), while a quarter feel it is aimed at people older than them. YouTube is increasingly seen as the viewing platform of choice, particula

24、rly among 8-11s In addition to the use of OTT services, YouTube is a popular platform for finding content. Following a substantial increase in use between 2016 and 2017, use of YouTube is comparable to last year and increases with age, with close to half of 3-4s (45%) ever having used it, rising to

25、89% of 12-15s. However, this year there has been a shift among 8-11s in how they prefer to view content, with a significant increase in the proportion of this age group (who watch both YouTube and TV on a TV set) who say they prefer to watch YouTube content rather than TV programmes on a TV set (49%

26、 vs. 40% in 2017). This increase among 8-11s means that there is a clear preference for watching YouTube content rather than TV programmes on a TV set, both among 8-11s (49% vs. 14%) and 12- 15s (49% vs. 16%). Our Media Lives research suggests this might be due to YouTube or Netflix viewing allowing

27、 children greater control over their time overall not just what they watch, but 1 OTT (or over the top) refers to audio-visual content delivered on the open internet rather than over a managed IPTV architecture. 2 which refers to activities when the TV set is in use, but the content cannot be matche

28、d to broadcast TV programmes and films (this can include subscription VoD like Netflix, apps on smart TVs, DVDs and gaming). 6 when they watch it. And these services feel more personalised; children can more easily navigate to programmes and content they like, that are aimed at them, and content spe

29、cifically tailored to their hobbies and interests. For example, Carmen, aged 17, said “Its made from people my age for people my age”. Younger children (13 and under) especially seemed to enjoy content when they related to the characters portrayed. For example, Peter (13) and Ahmed (12) both enjoyed

30、 watching Jamie Johnson - a show featuring a 12 year-old boy becoming a professional footballer. Both Peter and Ahmed are interested in football and enjoyed watching a programme with a character their age and achieving something in line with their interests. Preference for watching YouTube vs. TV pr

31、ogrammes on a TV set, among 8-11s who watch both Vloggers are an increasingly important source of content and creativity Compared to 2017, children aged 3-15 are more likely to watch vloggers on YouTube, with the most significant rise coming from the 12-15 age group 52% of whom now claim to watch vl

32、oggers, up from 40% a year ago. Other forms of content have also grown in popularity since 2017, namely how-to and unboxing videos and game tutorials (Dan TDM was popular for Fortnite and Minecraft tutorials in our Media Lives study). Viewing of Vloggers or YouTube personalities, among YouTube users

33、 7 Vloggers are not just an important source of content, they are also a source of inspiration and aspiration. Many of the children in our Media Lives study were inspired by YouTubers or skilled contributors to Musical.ly3 and were aspiring to create content like them. As such, some were regularly p

34、osting their own content on YouTube or Musical.ly. Some children had a sense they might get discovered by posting this content, in part fuelled by their perception that the content produced by YouTubers was accessible, often including bloopers or presented in a casual attitude. The content children

35、posted on YouTube therefore often mimicked other YouTube content. This creativity is also evident in our tracker research; making a video was one of the most popular online activities for 5-15 year-olds (undertaken by 40% of 5-15s overall, rising to nearly half of 12- 15s), while 15% make their own

36、music online. Both of these activities have seen a significant rise since last year. Use of any device to make a video, among children who go online Online gaming is increasingly popular among 5-15s As with using the internet, the estimated weekly hours spent gaming increase with age, ranging from 6

37、 hours 12 minutes for 3-4s who play games to 13 hours 48 minutes for 12-15s. For most age groups this has remained relatively static since last year, but children aged 12-15 who play games say they spend an extra hour and a half gaming per week compared to last year. Of all the activities we cover,

38、it is in gaming where we see the biggest gender disparities: boys in each age group spend more hours than girls in a typical week playing games, with the difference by gender increasing with the age of the child. On average girls aged 12-15 spend around 9 hours per week gaming (9 hours 18 minutes) w

39、hile boys of this age spend over 16 hours (16 hours 42 minutes). Among those who play games, three-quarters of 5-15s ever play games online; an increase from two-thirds in 2017. The incidence of online gaming increases with age, ranging from 37% for 3-4s to 87% for 12-15s. Gaming can have a strong s

40、ocial element; close to two in five online gamers aged 8-11s (38%) and three in five aged 12-15s (58%) say they use online chat features within the game to talk to others. In terms of who they are talking to, they are more than twice as likely to chat through the game to people they already know out

41、side the game (34% 8-11s, 53% 12-15s) than they are to chat to people 3 A social media platform where users create and share short videos based on music, now called TikTok 8 they know only through playing the game (10% 8-11s, 25% 12-15s). Boys aged 12-15 who play online games are also twice as likel

42、y as girls to say they chat to people they only know through a game (30% vs. 16%). Social media can bring a combination of negative pressures and positive influences While the proportion of children with a social media profile has remained static since 2017 (70% of 12-15s and 20% of 8-11s who go onl

43、ine have a profile), there have been shifts in which apps/ messaging sites are preferred. While Facebook remains the most popular social media site or messaging app, used by 72% of 12-15s with a social media profile, 12-15s are more likely than in 2017 to use Instagram (65% vs. 47%) and WhatsApp (43

44、% vs. 32%). In addition, fewer nominate Facebook as their main site or app (31% vs. 40%). Close to a quarter (23%) nominate Instagram as their main site or app, up from 14% in 2017. Main social media sites used among 12-15s with a social media profile Use of social media proves to have both benefits

45、 and drawbacks. Twelve to fifteens who use social media or messaging sites/ apps are aware of some of the social pressures and negative associations with this use, with 78% feeling there is pressure to look popular and 90% saying that people are mean to each other on social media, at least sometimes

46、. These pressures are particularly felt among girls. Girls aged 12-15 with a social media or messaging profile are more likely than boys to feel pressure to look popular on these sites all of the time (20% vs. 11%) and are more likely to feel that there should be rules about what people can say onli

47、ne to prevent hurtful comments (77% vs. 67%). Supporting this, some of the girls in our Media Lives study were this year choosing more glamourised or aesthetic Snapchat filters, rather than the cute animal faces they had used in previous waves; these are popular as they are thought to make faces loo

48、k prettier and brighter. 9 However, alongside these pressures some children are being savvy in their use of social media; most older children are aware that profiles can be highly curated and do not always reflect real life. Just over half of 12-15s who go online (54%) agree that the images or video

49、s that people post online make their life look more interesting than it is; less than one in ten (6%) disagree. In line with this, our Media Lives research shows that some children had multiple accounts on the same social media platform, which had different levels of visibility to their social groups. Children posted different content on these profiles depending on who they allowed to see each profile; more visible accounts tended to be