Survey Reveals Online Risks for Young Teens, Including Exposure to Sexual and Violent Content

A recent survey found that over one in ten young teenagers, specifically 12 percent of children aged 13 to 15, received at least one sexual message online in the year leading up to February 2026. Furthermore, more than a third of respondents reported being exposed to violent or criminal content online. The survey indicated that a quarter of those receiving sexual messages received them more than ten times, with 19 percent of these messages coming from adults aged 18 and over. The data suggests that online platforms may be used by predators to target young teens, as 25 percent of girls and 12 percent of boys reported receiving such messages from adults. The primary method of receiving these messages was through private messages, accounting for 87 percent of cases. Additionally, 68 percent of recipients considered the messages unwanted, with girls being more likely than boys to report unwanted messages (84 percent vs. 49 percent). More than half (53 percent) of those who received unwanted messages disclosed the content to someone. The survey also highlighted that 19 percent of young teens were exposed to content encouraging eating disorders, while 15 percent encountered sexual images or videos, and 12 percent saw content related to self-harm. Most children reported that they came across harmful content unintentionally, with 83 percent of those exposed to eating disorder content and 82 percent exposed to self-harm content stating they found it accidentally. The Office for National Statistics conducted the survey, which included over 6,000 responses from children aged 10 to 15 in England and Wales. The findings are expected to reignite discussions about the responsibilities of social media platforms in protecting young users from harmful content. The UK Government has announced plans to ban social media for users under 16, although implementation is not expected until next year. The survey also revealed that 37 percent of children aged 10 to 15 reported seeing violent or criminal content online, with the most common type being physical violence (34 percent). The survey noted that 84 percent of children spent three or more hours online daily during weekends, with 25 percent spending seven or more hours online. Most children accessed the internet via smartphones (88 percent) or computers (62 percent). The findings have drawn comments from various stakeholders, including Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, who emphasized the need for better protections for children online. Rowan Ferguson from the Molly Rose Foundation expressed concerns about the effectiveness of current online safety measures and called for more accountability from tech companies.