NCPCR Study Shows 37% of 10-Year-Olds Are On Facebook, 24% Are On Instagram

According to the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) study, as many as 37.8 per cent of children aged 10 or below have Facebook accounts and 24.3 per cent have Instagram accounts, which is against the rules and guidelines framed by the various social media platforms, reported India Today.

According to the social media platforms guidelines, the age barrier to create an account on social media platforms is fixed at 13 years.

In the study by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on the 'Effects (Physical, Behavioural and Psycho-social) of using Mobile Phones and other Devices with Internet Accessibility by Children', it was found that a large proportion of 10-year-olds have social media accounts.

"Social media platforms contain and disperse such a variety of content, a lot of which is neither appropriate nor conducive for children. They can be anything from violent or vulgar content to instances of online abuse and bullying of children. Hence, in this regard, proper oversight and stricter enforcement is required," it said.

Facebook, Instagram Popular

According to the study, Facebook (used by 36.8 per cent) and Instagram (used by 45.5 per cent) are quite popular among the children who are using the social media platforms/apps.

According to the NCPCR, for the purpose of this study, as many as 5,611 participants responses were collected, including 3,491 school children, over 750 teachers, and more than 1,500 parents from 60 schools, spread across six states and Union Territories.

The data also shows that for 62.6 of respondents the most comfortable means of accessing smartphones for children is through their parents' mobile phones.

"It is also interesting to note that 30.2 per cent of the children of age groups (8 to 18 years) possess their own smartphones and use them for all purposes," the study said.

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