Social media usage among children in the United Kingdom (UK) 2021

YouTube was the online network most likely to be used by children aged 8 to 17 years during 2021 in the United Kingdom, while WhatsApp and TikTok ranked second and third, respectively. Overall, 42 percent of those aged 8 to 17 years reported using TikTok, compared with 41 percent of respondents using Instagram.

Youth accounts on the rise again

From 80 percent in 2012, the share of children aged 12 to 15 years of age with a social media account fell to 70 percent in 2018, but increased again in 2020, peaking at 87 percent. Despite some major social networks setting minimum age limits in their terms of service, 30 percent of children aged 5 to 7 years had a social media account in 2020, according to Ofcom.

Facebook falling out of favor with teens

Among teens and young adults in the United States, Youtuba and Instagram had a higher reach than any other social network, slightly ahead of Facebook and Snapchat. When you remove young adults from the picture, Snapchat is clearly the most important social network and Facebook barely comes into the equation. Since the Fall/Autumn period of 2017, less than ten percent of teens in the United States said Facebook was their most important social network, compared with more than 34 percent of teens who nominated Snapchat. The new hot trend among Gen Z is TikTok, selected by 29 percent of respondents and ranking second.