One in three children accept friend requests online from people they don't know

One in three children under the age of 15 has accepted a friend request online from someone they don't know.

New data's been released by the Office for National Statistics looking into how young people behave on things like social media.

Around 20% have talked online with people they've never met - and one in 12 have shared their location publicly.

Children receiving sexual messages online

The data in the 10-15 year old's Crime Survey also found:

• 92.6% of children went online daily, or almost daily.
• 58.1% spend three or more hours online on a typical school day.
• 19.2% of children spoke to or exchanged messages with someone online they'd never met in person.
• 4.4% met up in person with someone they'd only spoken to online.

The survey also asked if children had received a "sexual" message in the last 12 months.

One in 10 said they had - with more than three quarters receiving them more than once.

Advice for parents

When asked about bullying, 847,000 children said they had experienced it online - and were less likely to report it compared to if it happened in-person.

Jess Chalmers aka "Social Jess" says the data shows how important it is for parents to engage with children when it comes to their online activities.

She told heat radio: "Children's online lives and offline lives are not separate - it is one life. Online is such a big part of their lives.

"When you're asking 'how was your day in school?' we also need to be asking about their online world in the same way, and I think that's where parents often don't."

Jess adds: "The most important thing a parent can do is educate themselves on the risks.

"If we know what the risks are, we can guide our children to have a much safer experience online.

"It's about keeping that conversation going, always talking about their online lives, good and bad, so you always know what's going on."

What do if you're impacted by these issues

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, contact the police on 999.

If you are still concerned, or you or someone you know is experiencing bullying, you can contact:

• NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 or help@nspcc.org.uk
• Childline on 0800 1111
• Local child protection services

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