Ofcom Report: Over a Third of Northern Ireland Adults Access Online Pornography

Online pornography viewing is more prevalent among adults in Northern Ireland compared to any other region of the United Kingdom. This finding comes from recent research released by Ofcom, the communications regulatory body. The regulator reported that over 430,000 adults in Northern Ireland accessed “pornographic content services” online during May 2024, representing more than a third of the adult populace. This figure surpassed the proportion of adults engaging with comparable content in Wales, Scotland, and England. These statistics are drawn from Ofcom’s 2024 Online Nation report, an annual publication examining digital behaviors across the UK. Previously, the Northern Ireland Executive’s online safety strategy for young individuals had voiced apprehension regarding online pornography exposure. In general, Ofcom’s data indicates that adults in Northern Ireland spent an average of four hours and 16 minutes daily online, primarily utilizing their smartphones. Google, identified by its parent company Alphabet, emerged as the most frequently used website and the leading search engine in Northern Ireland. Following Google were Meta, Amazon, and websites managed by Microsoft. However, the BBC ranked as the fifth most visited online site in both Northern Ireland and the entire UK, also boasting the largest daily audience among all news services. The BBC’s website reached 86% of adults in Northern Ireland, in contrast to 83% of adults in England and Scotland, and 82% in Wales. The BBC, The Sun, and Mail Online were among the top four news services across all UK nations; however, the Belfast Telegraph achieved the third highest reach for news services within Northern Ireland. Concerning application usage, WhatsApp stood out as the most favored app, utilized by over nine out of ten adults. Following WhatsApp in popularity were Facebook, Google Maps, YouTube, and Instagram. Candy Crush Saga maintained its position as the leading game application, a status it also held in 2022 and 2023. Twitter, currently rebranded as X, was not listed among the top ten applications used by adults, according to Ofcom, but secured the sixth spot among the top ten social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit demonstrated greater popularity. Nevertheless, Ofcom stated that, overall, “YouTube remains the highest-reaching social media service among UK online adults using smartphones, tablets or computers”. Ofcom’s data further indicates a growing adoption of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Regarding smartphone preferences, Apple held a slight edge in popularity over Android. However, Apple’s iPhones were favored more by women than men across the UK generally. Conversely, in Northern Ireland, users showed a greater propensity to use Android phones compared to Apple’s iPhones. The Ofcom report indicated that a significant number of individuals aged 13 and above reported encountering “potentially harmful online content or behaviour”. Two-thirds of the population in Northern Ireland reported experiencing harms such as offensive language, scams, unsolicited friend requests, hateful material, trolling, or misogynistic content. Prior independent research conducted in Northern Ireland has suggested that adolescent girls are more prone than boys to be solicited for nude photographs online or to receive pornography or content advocating self-harm. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites. Details regarding our external linking policy are available.