Only one third of of 12 to 15-year-olds could identify ads in Google search results

One in five children aged 12 to 15 believe information returned by a Google search must be true, research from media regulator Ofcom has revealed.

So trusting are they that only one third of 12- to 15-year olds were able to identify paid-for adverts in Google search results -- despite them being in orange boxes with the word 'Ad' appended.


In one of the tests, children aged 8 to 15 were shown a picture of the results returned by Google when searching for 'trainers'. Despite being clearly labelled as ads, only 16 percent of 8 to 11-year-olds and 31 percent of 12 to 15-year-olds noticed that the top two results were paid placements.

Ofcom's research, the result of 1,379 interviews with patents and children in their homes, was carried out to try and understand how young people respond to the internet.

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The regulator also surveyed parents about how they protect their children from disturbing or inappropriate content online.

Despite government efforts to force ISPs to employ network-level parental controls on all home broadband connections, only 56 percent of parents are aware these parental controls exist. Of those surveyed, only 26 percent of households said they used the so-called "family friendly" filters.

The number of children who believe everything they read on social media is true has doubled since 2014, from 4 percent to 8 percent. And only 47 percent of 12 to 15-year-olds watching YouTube videos are aware that vloggers are often paid to promote products and services.

James Thickett, Ofcom's director of research, said the results showed children "still need help" coming to terms with the online world.


Children were also conflicted as to whether being online helped them be themselves. One third of 12 to 15-year-olds agreed that it did, a third disagreed and a third were unsure.

Children surveyed also believe people behave differently online, with 78 percent of girls aged 12 to 15 thinking this, compared to 67 percent of boys.

Think you're better at spotting ads than a child? Take our quiz

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