HomeInsightsOfcom publishes research on children’s access and response to news and information about Covid-19

Ofcom has published research on how children aged 12-15 are receiving and acting on news and information during the current coronavirus pandemic. The research, which is based on the responses of over 500 children and covers weeks three and four of the lockdown, shows that:

  • nearly all 12-15 year olds (96%) said they had accessed news about Covid-19 in the last week;
  • ninety-two per cent of 12-15s who speak to family members for news about the virus are confident their relatives tell them the truth about it. The BBC’s reporting on the pandemic is also highly trusted by those children that use it (87%);
  • children are more likely to turn to BBC TV than other broadcasters for news about the outbreak (49%), compared with a third who use ITV (30%) and a fifth who get information from Sky (21%);
  • just under half of 12-15s use social media as a source of information about the virus (48%), with YouTube (20%), Facebook or Facebook Messenger (20%) and Instagram (18%), proving most popular;
  • half of children (52%) agree that they are finding it hard to know what is true or false about Covid-19; and
  • a clear majority of children agree that the crisis is showing good things about our country, such as more support for the NHS (83%).

To access the research, click here.