Children’s entertainment now spans online games, livestreams, short-form video, messaging and AI tools. Ofcom’s 2024 research shows how widely these activities are used, how children participate in them, and how parents and schools respond to the changing media environment.
Contents
- At a glance
- Gaming and online communication
- Livestream viewing and participation
- Social media and video habits
- Younger children’s entertainment use
- AI, algorithms and digital awareness
- Screen time, safety and access
At a glance
The figures below describe children in the UK during the periods covered by Ofcom’s reports. Unless a different age range or report is stated, the statistics come from Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2024. They are survey findings, so they describe reported behaviour or opinions rather than a complete count of every child.
- 60% of children aged 3–17 played games online, up from 57% in 2022.
- 71% of children aged 8–17 had viewed a livestream at least once, whether live or recorded.
- 39% of all 8–17-year-olds uploaded their own videos to online platforms.
- 46% of children aged 8–17 had ever used AI, compared with 23% of adults.
- 93% of children aged 8–17 recalled having at least one online safety lesson at school.
Together, these figures show that entertainment is not limited to watching content. Children also create videos, communicate while gaming, react to livestreams and use digital tools for fun and schoolwork.
Gaming and online communication
Online gaming is a mainstream entertainment activity. Ofcom found that 60% of children aged 3–17 played online in 2024, compared with 57% in 2022. Gaming can also be a social activity: among 8–17-year-olds who played online, 64% chatted through the game with friends or people they knew in real life.
The same Ofcom research identified wider contact beyond familiar friends. 31% of children who played online communicated with strangers while gaming. These figures describe overlapping groups: a child may chat with friends and also communicate with people they do not know. The statistics therefore should not be treated as mutually exclusive categories.
Children’s entertainment choices also connect with their feelings about time spent on screens. 35% of 8–17-year-olds said their own screentime was too high. The proportion was 44% among 16–17-year-olds, indicating that older teenagers were more likely than the wider 8–17 group to feel they spent too much time on screens.
Parents reported a similar challenge in managing use. 34% of parents of 3–4-year-olds said it was hard to control their child’s screentime, rising to 49% of parents of 16–17-year-olds. At the same time, 74% of parents of 3–4-year-olds said their child had a good balance between screentime and other activities. The equivalent figures were 56% for parents of 12–15-year-olds and 55% for parents of 16–17-year-olds.
Livestream viewing and participation
Ofcom’s livestreaming research shows that children often encounter entertainment in both live and recorded forms. Among 8–17-year-olds, 71% had watched a livestream at least once, including live or recorded viewing. 49% had watched a livestream live, while 34% had watched a recorded livestream. Some children watched only one format: 22% watched recorded livestreams only and 37% watched livestreams live only.
Live viewing was often interactive. Of the children who watched livestreams live, 72% took part in at least one interactive behaviour. The most common reported action was using emojis or reactions, at 42%. Other behaviours included taking part in a poll, reported by 27%, using live chat, reported by 26%, and sending a message to the streamer, reported by 25%.
Some live-stream interactions involved spending or more direct participation. 18% of children who watched livestreams live sent gifts or spent money through the stream. 12% called in to speak to the livestreamer. 10% bought something shown in the livestream or something similar. These percentages refer to the live-viewing group and should not be compared directly with the percentage of all children who had ever viewed a livestream.
Gaming was the leading live-stream content category in the supplied Ofcom livestreaming figures: 63% of children who watched livestreams live viewed gaming content. Performing content was viewed by 29% of live livestream viewers. The results suggest that children’s entertainment can combine watching, real-time feedback, social interaction and commercial activity within one session.
Social media and video habits
Social media and messaging services were associated with positive social and emotional experiences for many 8–17-year-olds who used them. 68% said these services helped them feel closer to friends all or most of the time, while 67% said using them made them happy all or most of the time.
Children used social platforms in different ways. Among 8–17-year-old social media users, 28% were active users who shared, commented, posted or liked posts. 44% were more passive users who liked and followed accounts, and 27% mostly read what they saw on social apps. These categories reflect reported patterns of use and may not add to 100% because they are presented as separate user descriptions.
Video creation was also common: 39% of all 8–17-year-olds uploaded their own videos to online platforms. Among children aged 8–17 with profiles on social media, video-sharing or messaging platforms, 58% said they used more than one profile on at least one app or site. Of those multi-profile children, 23% said one account was just for parents or family to see, 21% said one was for close friends and another for everyone else, and 13% said one represented the real them while another used edited or filtered posts or photos.
Among 16–17-year-olds, Ofcom reported high use of several major services. The percentages using WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat were 83%, 80% and 80%, respectively. 49% used all five of the top apps and sites listed in the research: YouTube, WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.
Younger children’s entertainment use
The 2024 Ofcom figures show substantial growth in several activities among 5–7-year-olds compared with 2023.
| Activity or service | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Send messages or make voice/video calls | 59% | 65% |
| Use social media sites or apps | 30% | 38% |
| Watch livestreaming apps or sites | 39% | 50% |
| Play games online | 34% | 41% |
| Use WhatsApp | 29% | 37% |
| Use TikTok | 25% | 30% |
| Use Instagram | 14% | 22% |
| Use Discord | 2% | 4% |
The same research found that 48% of 5–7-year-olds had their own YouTube or YouTube Kids profile, up from 39% in 2023. 11% had their own WhatsApp profile, compared with 7% in 2023, while 9% had their own Instagram profile, compared with 5% in 2023.
Parents described different levels of involvement in younger children’s social-media use. Among parents of 5–7-year-olds whose child used social media, 32% said the child used it independently and 42% said they used social media with the child. 30% of parents of 5–7-year-olds said they would allow their child to have a social-media profile before reaching the minimum age required.
AI, algorithms and digital awareness
AI has become part of children’s digital experience as well as a topic of awareness. Ofcom found that 46% of children aged 8–17 had ever used AI, compared with 23% of adults. Use increased with age: 33% of 8–11-year-olds, 52% of 12–15-year-olds and 59% of 16–17-year-olds had ever used AI.
Among child AI users, 45% said they used AI for fun. Other reported purposes were learning, at 35%, and schoolwork, at 37%. These purposes can overlap, so the figures do not represent a single-choice breakdown of all AI use.
Algorithmic recommendations were also familiar to many children. 59% of 8–17-year-olds were aware that algorithms directed specific content to them. Awareness was 44% among 8–11-year-olds and 72% among 16–17-year-olds. Among 8–17-year-olds who knew about algorithms, 46% were happy for apps to use information collected about them to decide what to show them.
Screen time, safety and access
Online safety education was widespread but not always regular. 93% of children aged 8–17 recalled having at least one online safety lesson at school, while 30% recalled having regular online safety lessons. Of the children who recalled one online safety lesson, 76% said it was useful. Among those who had regular lessons, 97% said the lessons were useful.
Parents also reported conversations at home. 95% of parents of children aged 8–17 said they had talked to their child about staying safe online, and 47% of those parents said they did so at least every few weeks.
Access to devices was another part of children’s digital experience. 34% of parents of school-aged children said their child did not have continuous access at home to an appropriate device for schoolwork. Among parents who lacked an appropriate device, 13% said they could not manage the issue, meaning schoolwork was postponed or not possible.
These findings place entertainment alongside communication, education and family decision-making. Children use digital media for games, livestreams, videos, social connection and AI-assisted activities, while parents and schools try to support safe, balanced access across different ages.