Online Nation is an annual report that looks at what people are doing online, how they are served by online content providers and platforms, and their attitudes to and experiences of using the internet.
Read the full report
Online Nation – 2024 report (PDF, 3,611 KB)
Ein Gwlad Ar-lein – Adroddiad 2024 (PDF, 3,250 KB)
Read more
Understanding how to keep children safe online: Children’s online user ages
Previous years
Online Nation 2021: report (PDF, 7.2 MB)
Ein Gwlad Ar-lein 2021 – Trosolwg Cymraeg (PDF, 1.4 MB)
Online Nation 2021 – interactive report
People's experience of video-sharing platforms
Ofcom recently did some research to understand people’s experience of Video-sharing platforms (VSPs), through a mixture of online surveys and talking directly to users and creators. This video describes the research and summaries its findings.
The research found that nearly all internet users had used at least one VSP, with the majority of platform users having seen or experienced something potentially harmful. The research also found that when people encounter harmful content, they are not always sure how to report it or what happens when they do.
Other research
Pilot Online Harms Survey 2020/21 (PDF, 481.8 KB)
We conducted an online pilot study among 4000 individuals aged 13+, which explored attitudes towards the internet, including views on responsibility when it comes to moderating content and keeping children safe, confidence in staying safe online, exposure, frequency and responses to harm online.
Automated approaches to measuring online experiences (PDF, 4.1 MB)
This summary report from Faculty provides an assessment of the existing range of online automated tools, within a framework for measuring online experiences. It outlines current providers and the legal, ethical and other considerations to be addressed when using such tools.
Misinformation: A qualitative exploration (PDF, 954.1 KB)
This qualitative research from Yonder provides an in-depth understanding of people who self-identified as either ‘questioning’ or ‘rejecting’ the mainstream media. Our goal was to develop a richer understanding of how such people interact with news and information online, and their opinions and categorisation of various types of misinformation.
Rapid Evidence Assessment on Online Misinformation and Media Literacy (PDF, 1.3 MB)
This review by LSE Consulting (led by Professor Lee Edwards) summarises recent evidence, largely from academic research literature, on work being done in the field of media literacy to address misinformation. It analyses 201 papers following an initial sift of thousands.
Transparency in the regulation of online safety (PDF, 2.1 MB)
‘Transparency’ refers to publicly available information provided by online service providers. Transparency can have a range of benefits, including informing consumers’ choices about the online service providers that they use, increasing trust in and accountability of online service providers and improving safety overall.
We commissioned PA Consulting to evaluate literature on transparency and reporting policies across a range of sectors and contexts to understand which factors had been taken into account, from the intended audience to the information collected.
Online Nation 2020: report (PDF, 5.9 MB)
Online Nation 2020 – summary (PDF, 2.0 MB)
Adroddiad – Ein Gwlad Ar-lein 2020 (PDF, 1.8 MB)
Other downloads
Ofcom gaming adult research March 2020 – data tables (PDF, 5.4 MB)
Ofcom gaming adult research March 2020 – data tables (XLSX, 3.9 MB)
Ofcom gaming children research March 2020 – data tables (PDF, 696.1 KB)
Ofcom gaming children research March 2020 – data tables (XLSX, 522.7 KB)
Ofcom Online Communication Services research (qualitative) (PDF, 1.0 MB)
Ofcom Video-Sharing Platforms adult research March 2020 – data tables (PDF, 5.9 MB)
Ofcom Video-Sharing Platforms adult research March 2020 – data tables (XLSX, 5.6 MB)
Ofcom Video-Sharing Platforms children research March 2020 – data tables (PDF, 1.2 MB)
Ofcom Video-Sharing Platforms children research March 2020 – data tables (XLSX, 980.3 KB)
I Am A Creator
Four video content creators from around the UK tell us why they love what they do and what advice they have for future YouTube stars.
We also published the Adults' Media Use and Attitudes, Adults' Media Lives and Internet users’ concerns about and experience of potential online harms reports for 2020.
Online Nation 2019: report (PDF, 9.3 MB)
Online Nation 2019 – summary (PDF, 1.6 MB)
Ein Gwlad Ar-lein 2019 – adroddiad (PDF, 1.5 MB)
Other downloads
Online Nation data (CSV, 114.7 KB)
Annex 1 – Methodology (PDF, 288.2 KB)
The use of data by online services (Analysys Mason) (PDF, 3.0 MB)
We also published the Adults' Media Use and Attitudes, Adults' Media Lives and Internet users’ concerns about and experience of potential online harms reports for 2019.