Insights Ofcom consults on proposed changes to its Children’s Media Literacy Tracker

Ofcom’s Children’s Media Literacy Tracker provides detailed evidence on media use and attitudes among children and young people aged three to 15.

This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the fieldwork has been conducted online, instead of face-to-face.

Ofcom is now proposing longer-term changes to the methodology and frequency of the tracker to reflect changes in the media landscape and user behaviour. Ofcom is proposing to:

  • move from one survey, to three shorter surveys: a Core Tracker (face-to-face), a Digital Literacy Tracker, and a Social Media Tracker (both online); and
  • include 16- and 17-year-olds in the research sample. This will align the quantitative study more closely with the qualitative research into young people’s media literacy.

Full details of the proposals are available on the Ofcom website. Ofcom plans to make arrangements to review and discuss the survey content in detail with stakeholders within the first quarter of 2021.

Ofcom asks that if these changes will cause any problems for organisations, they should email market.research@ofcom.org.uk by 4pm on Wednesday 23 December 2020. To access the proposed changes, click here.