Most primary teachers want the minimum age requirements increased for popular social media and communication platforms, polling suggests.
In a survey of 1,001 primary teachers, 51 per cent agreed that the age threshold for using TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp should be higher.
Meanwhile, 50 per cent took the same view over video platforms YouTube and Twitch, according to a Censuswide survey exclusively shared with ÌÇÐÄVlog.
The current minimum age requirement for TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp is 13 years old.
Raising age limits for social media
Some 24 per cent of the teachers polled said the minimum age requirement should be raised to 16 for social media and video platforms - but many were unsure about what the existing age thresholds are.
Respondents told the survey, commissioned by BBC Teach, that social media platforms should change the way their algorithms display particular content and make safety controls easier to use.
Teachers also called for social media companies to enable children’s accounts to be linked to their parent or carer’s account.
The survey comes after Britain’s head of counterterrorism .
A third of primary teachers polled said that at least one child in their class had reported being a victim of an online scam. A similar proportion reported that the number of children being scammed each year was increasing.
A survey by England’s children’s commissioner last year showed that many pupils also have concerns about the use of social media.
In 2024 Australia prohibited social media for under-16s, introducing the first nationwide ban of its kind.
Online safeguarding incidents increasing
Some 36 per cent of teachers in the survey reported that safeguarding incidents linked to online safety had increased at their primary school.
Meanwhile, 80 per cent were aware of at least one safeguarding incident linked to online safety in the past year.
Although teaching children how to use technology safely is a requirement of the school curriculum, the vast majority of primary teachers - 98 per cent - said they found this a challenge.
Teachers told the survey that the top three issues that make teaching online safety difficult are staying up to date, trying to fit online safety lessons into the school timetable and not feeling confident talking about the topic.
The BBC has brought together more than 100 covering topics linked to social media, including online reputation, screen time, self image and identity, and online bullying.
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