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Online Perception

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23 November 2015

By Alex Khalil

A recent survey of young people born after the year 1999, carried out by Ofcom, has shown that most young people believe what they read online.
The company, which acts as the independent regulator for the communications industries, found that only 50% of 12- to 15-year-olds who use search engines use some critical judgement when filtering through suggestions and results. Around 20% of this same group trust the search engines’ results.

But the younger generation isn’t as naive as it sounds when it comes to the expanse that is the World Wide Web.

Around half the group surveyed believed – quite rightly – that vloggers could be paid to do promotion, or brand endorsement. In addition, the majority seemed to understand the way in which we behave on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.It is not surprising, to say the least, that younger children are getting a firmer hold on how the Internet works. One of the key findings was that 12- to 15-year-olds spend nearly three and a half hours a week more online than they do watching TV.

The report also specified that over half of all 3- and 4-year-olds and three-quarters of 12- to 15-year-olds are using a tablet in 2015.

The children also picked up on a very important fact, with seven out of ten agreeing with the statement ‘I think most people behave in a different way online to when they talk to people face to face.’

But don’t take our word for it: you can find the full report here.

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