London - More than half of children have used social media by the age of ten, according to a study.
Facebook tops the list of sites that youngsters sign up to, with 52 percent of eight to 16-year-olds admitting they had ignored the social network’s official minimum age limit of 13 when they joined, a report for online safety guide Knowthenet found.
Messaging applications for smartphones are also popular among children, with WhatsApp used by 40 percent of eight- to 16-year-olds, BBM by 24 percent and Snapchat by 11 percent.
But the study also found that, despite online communication being widely used among youngsters, just 32 percent of parents feel “very confident” about helping them stay safe online.
Dr Richard Woolfson, a child psychologist at Knowthenet, said: “The internet offers wonderful experiences for young minds. Yet, as social media removes barriers between a young person’s public and private self, children can become vulnerable.
“Parents need to talk openly and straightforwardly about the risks they may encounter online without scaring them.” - Daily Mail