A report published 2nd April 2008 by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom reveals that 49% of children aged 8-17 who have access to the internet have their own personal profile on a social networking site. Although the minimum age for major social networking sites is usually 13 or 14, 27% of 8-11 year olds who are aware of social networking sites claim to have a profile on a site.

The research shows some amazing discrepancies between what parents think is taking place and what is really happening. Two-thirds of parents say that they set rules for their children’s use of social networking sites, but only 53% of children agreed that their parents did so. 50% parents have installed some form of content blocking, and 80% of them think it works, but 67% of children believe that they can overcome it and access any content they want to. 24% of teenagers have a computer in their bedroom, so their parents can’t see what they’re doing in any case.

22% of adult internet users aged 16 and above have at last one online profile and many have a profile on more than one site. 50% adult social network users say that they access their profile at least every second day. Facebook is easily the most popular site amongst adults, followed by MySpace and Bebo. MySpace appeals more to adults in lower socio-economic groupings, but Bebo is the site used most by children aged 8 to 17.

Social networking sites are stretching the conventional meaning of the word ‘friends’ to include anyone a user has an online connection with, even people that they have never met or spoken to offline. Online friendships are often displayed publicly via friend lists, meaning that users often share personal details like political views, religion, sexuality and date of birth with people they barely know.

Ofcom’s research, which involved 5,000 adults and 3,000 children, suggests that there are five different groups of people using social networking sites:

* Alpha Socialisers - generally males aged under 25, who use sites in intense short bursts to flirt, find new friends and seek entertainment.

* Attention Seekers - generally females looking for attention and comments from others, often by posting photographs and customizing their profiles. Some younger women claimed to create fake profiles for fun.

* Followers - these include males and females of all ages who join sites to keep track of what their peers are doing.

* Faithfuls - older males and females, generally aged over 20, who typically use social networking sites to rekindle old friendships, often from school or university.

* Functionals - mostly older males who tend to be single-minded in using sites for a particular purpose.

The research also suggests that there are three discrete groups of people who do not use social networking sites:

* Worried about safety - often older people and parents concerned about safety online, especially making personal details available online.

* Technically inexperienced - these are often people aged over 30 who lack confidence in using the Internet and computers.

* Intellectual rejecters - usually older teens or young adults who have no interest in social networking sites and regard them as a waste of time.

Privacy and safety are often quoted as major reasons for avoiding social networking sites, but they do not appear to be a major concern for those who do use such sites. The Ofcom research found that:

* 41% of children and 44% of adults are happy to leave their privacy settings at the default setting of ‘open’, meaning that their profiles are visible to anyone

* 34% of 16-24 year olds are happy to give out sensitive personal information such as their email address or phone number

* 17% of adult users said that they talked to people on social networking sites that they didn’t know and 35% spoke to people who were ‘friends of friends’.

Some teenagers and young adults in their early twenties felt ‘addicted’ to social networking sites and realize that their use was reducing the time available for studying. Some users reported being aware of bullying through social networking sites and a minority of younger users admitted using social networking sites to take revenge on people they had had disagreements with.