We’re spending even more time online as a nation, according to Ofcom’s annual Online Nation report, published today.
Adults, Ofcom found, now spend an average of four and a half hours online a day – up by 10 minutes on last year. Women spend 26 minutes a day longer online than men, with a daily average of 4hrs 43 mins.
Most of people’s time online, the report says, is spent on a smartphone, where adults use an average of 41 apps a month. WhatsApp, Facebook and Google Maps are the three most commonly used apps among adults.
Two major tech firms now account for more than half of the time people in the UK spend online.
YouTube is the most used Alphabet-owned service, used by 94% of adults. Time on YouTube is increasing, reaching an average of 51 minutes a day, not including the TV set.
The combination of Facebook and Messenger (93% adults) is the most widely used Meta service, followed by WhatsApp (90% adults).
But the responses from children were most concerning, experts say.
42% unclear on what they’re buying
The survey found that almost six in ten (58%) children aged 8-17 said they had spent money online in the past month, whether on social media sites, video-sharing platforms or while they were gaming.
When responding, children said they were encouraged to spend money in various ways online, including character customisation (30%), adverts (27%), recommendations from friends or family (23%) and influencer content (22%).
But a third of children (32%) regretted the purchases they’d made in-game, and 43% regretted purchases made on social media. Meanwhile, 42% were unclear on what they were actually buying in games.
The survey also found late-night scrolling among children is common. Across four of the main services used by children – YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp – 15-24% of the time spent for the whole 8-14 age range happens between 9pm and 5am. 4–10% of usage happens after 11pm, depending on the platform.
Some of the children Ofcom spoke to reflected on the negative impacts of spending too long scrolling on their smartphone.
They used the term “brain rot” to describe both the type of content and the feeling it leaves behind. This content is fast-paced, chaotic, and often nonsensical and can leave viewers overstimulated and disoriented.
Predatory design
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, an AI consultancy, described the Online Nation stats as “damning”.
Parmar-Mistry, himself a gamer, said: “43% of children regretting their social media purchases and a third regretting in-game spending isn’t user error, it’s predatory design working exactly as intended.
“We aren’t building digital tools for human connection anymore — we are building relentless extraction machines. We have allowed tech giants to gamify consumption to the point where they are monetising our children’s confusion and lack of impulse control.
“We need to stop applauding rising engagement metrics and start asking if we actually want to live in a world where every pixel is for sale.
“Technology should serve humans, not treat them like livestock in a digital pen waiting to be sold to the highest bidder.”
£1500 a month
Philly Ponniah, Chartered Wealth Manager and Financial Coach at Philly Financial, is worried about how easy it is for children to spend significant sums online.
She said: “I’ve worked with parents whose children were burning through hundreds of pounds a month on games without really understanding what they were buying.
“One client’s son was spending £1500 a month before they even realised. The online world pushes children to spend through nudges that feel harmless in the moment.
“Customising characters or following an influencer’s recommendation feels fun, not a financial commitment. Yet a third of kids regret in-game purchases and almost half regret what they buy through social media, which shows how confusing these systems are by design.
“Kids aren’t making bad choices. They’re up against platforms built to keep them hooked and spending, often late at night when self control is lowest. Parents need clearer tools and tighter safeguards so they’re not fighting this battle alone.”
“Frankly frightening”
Scott Gallacher, Director at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, a wealth manager, said: “Most of these figures are hardly surprising to anyone living in the modern world, although we should all be concerned about children’s access to, and use of, many online services.
“Long gone are the days when there was one family computer, and parents could at least try to place some restrictions on their children’s screen time and what they accessed.
And the idea of children, unsupervised, being on tablets or smartphones into the small hours is frankly frightening. Even for adults, the power of a small number of tech companies to hook us, influence what we read, hear, watch, and even think, while harvesting our personal data all the time, is scary.
“We really need our government to regulate this sector and protect us, but sadly, it seems unable to stand up to the USA and Trump in particular in this area.”
Kate Allen, Owner at Kingsbridge-based Finest Stays, said Ofcom’s report is “a jolt” and that the cost will be emotional as much as financial.
She continued: “If adults struggle to resist the dopamine pull of our digital world, children stand no chance. Late-night scrolling, in-app nudges, and regretful purchases show how deeply they’re being drawn into systems designed to hook them.”
Patricia McGirr, Founder at Burnley-based Repossession Rescue Network, also said the risks for children are stark: “They’re staying up late, are being nudged into spending on games and features they barely understand and regret soon after.
“That isn’t youthful impulse. It’s design based on extraction.”
