One in four home internet users aged between eight and 12 has an account on Facebook, MySpace or Bebo, new research has shown.
The figures come from Ofcom, the communications regulator, as part of its annual Children's Media Literacy Audit.
Moreover, according to Nielsen, a market research organisation covering advertising information services, more than a third of five to seven year olds had visited Facebook.
Clearly, social media is popular with pre teen children despite each of the social networking sites mentioned precluding the membership of under 13s.
The research revealed some interesting statistics regarding the online behaviour and convictions of the children surveyed.
Forty per cent of under 15s believe that all or most of the information provided on social networking sites is true, while just over a quarter of similarly aged search engine users believe that only information from truthful websites is returned.
More than 90 per cent of parents who are aware that their children have social media profiles say that they regularly check their child's activity on the site(s).
Worryingly, perhaps, more than one in six parents are unaware that their offspring visit social networking sites.
Increasing numbers of children are also using the internet to watch films or TV shows and download music.
