Warning to parents as children as young as three are using social media sites 10 years earlier than they should

PARENTS are letting kids as young as three use social media sites 10 years earlier than they should, watchdogs say.

Around 16 percent of three- and four-year-olds already use the video-sharing service TikTok.

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According to Ofcom, the number rises to 29 per cent for five to seven year olds.

Overall, 33 percent of parents of children aged five to seven and 60 percent of children aged eight to eleven say their children have profiles on social media.

The minimum age for most platforms is 13 years.

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

The study found that 64 percent of eight- to eleven-year-olds had multiple accounts or profiles.

A total of 21 percent of kids surfed in secret “incognito mode” and almost as many deleted their browser history.

Some even set up parental controls to prevent them from visiting certain websites.

Ofcom said the ability to identify dangers online had “never been more important”.

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

“But many adults and children struggle to identify what might be fake.”