Australian children as young as 10 are spending an average of two hours a day on TikTok, while those even younger are signing up to platforms like X and Reddit, according to a new report.
Children aged 10 to 15 are consuming anywhere up to 240 different short-form videos on TikTok a day — if not more — with the older of the cohort also spending more than 90 minutes a day on Snapchat.
While it is no secret that young people are spending their time using social media, the latest data from online safety company Qustodio sheds a new light on the online lives of nearly 20,000 young Australians.
Qustodio global online safety expert Yasmin London said children were facing the pressures of “cyber ostracism”, adding the findings were cause for concern for parents of children of any age.
“While many parents may see many of these apps as harmless distractions, they can expose children to a harmful and dark side of the internet,” she said.
The report, based on anonymous app and online tool usage from 19,000 Australian families, found that 39 per cent of 10 to 12-year-olds used TiKTok for an average of 122 minutes a day, and 48 per cent of 13-15 year olds used it for an average 121 minutes a day.
Among the findings, two in five children aged seven to nine were found to have signed up to forums such as Reddit — which Ms London said could expose them to hate speech, porn and disinformation.
Popular gaming app Roblox was being used up to two hours a day, the research showed.
For teens aged 16 and older, Instagram and Snapchat are the apps of choice.
The insights come as debate rages across the country about potential age limits for children accessing social media platforms online.
Joining the chorus on Sunday, WA Premier Roger Cook said children needed to be allowed to be kids, and supported any measure which curtailed social media usage.
“We need to look at laws about how we do not expose children to unnecessary violence or extreme videos on social media,” he said.
“We also need to protect our kids from the anxiety and the impact that social media has on them, particularly in a schooling context.
“That’s why I support any initiative which restricts the impact of social media on our kids.”
Mr Cook said he had “asked for social media to be on the agenda for the National Cabinet to have a discussion at the national level about what more we can do to reduce the amount of violence and extreme vision that we see on our social media platforms”.
He said he was supportive of a push for an age ban on social media, but was awaiting the outcome of a legal review by former chief justice of the High Court Robert French into social media bans, commissioned by SA Premier Peter Malinauskas.
“I’m explicitly ruling (a ban) in. I’m interested in what we can do to make sure that we have effective laws in that space,” Mr Cook said.
“We want our kids to be kids. They have to have an opportunity to grow up and we’re looking very closely at the work that’s going on in South Australia at the moment by the Malinauskas Government.
“I think because it’s primarily in the communication space that we are best addressing these stuff at a national level, but I’m very interested to see what the inquiry that’s going on in South Australia at the moment has to find in relation to age restriction for access to social media.”