Warning to parents as kids as young as 3 are using social media too early

PARENTS are letting kids as young as three use social media sites ten years before they should, watchdogs say.

Around 16 per cent of three and four-year-olds are already watching video sharing service TikTok.

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The figure jumps to 29 per cent for five to seven-year-olds, according to Ofcom.

In all, 33 per cent of parents of kids aged five to seven and 60 per cent with eight to 11-year-olds say their kids have social media profiles.

The minimum age for most platforms is 13.

In a report published yesterday, the regulator warned that many children could be “tactically” using other accounts or “finstas” — fake Instagrams — to conceal the truth from parents.

Its study found 64 per cent of eight to 11-year-olds had multiple accounts or profiles.

A total of 21 per cent of kids surfed in the secret “incognito mode” and nearly as many deleted their browsing history.

Some even got round parental controls put in place to stop them visiting certain websites.

Ofcom said having skills to spot dangers online had “never been more important”.

Chief executive Melanie Dawes said: “It’s essential everyone has the tools and ­confidence to separate fact and fiction online.

“But many adults and children are struggling to spot what might be fake.”