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Ofcom Online Experiences Tracker (OET) Wave 5

Study details from the Studies index, with sources and citations for each field.

Geo
UK
Year
2024
N
543
Ages
13-17
Per-app coverage
Harms
Offline—

Notes · Non-probability; 543 teens of 7,611 total. Wave 5 findings are included in Ofcom’s Online Nation 2024 report.

References

  1. Ofcom (2024) OET W5 Questionnaire— Wave 5 Questionnaire

    YouGov / Ofcom (2024). Online Experiences Tracker Wave 5 — Survey Questionnaire.

    instrument
    Retrieved on:
    2026-05-21
    Pages:
    32
    Archived source:
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    SHA-256: 19b936640554f1233068514ae6593f6a31fcef1f55228b4898cdedc49c636af3

  2. Ofcom (2024) OET W5 Tech Report— Wave 5 Technical Report

    YouGov / Ofcom (2024). Online Experiences Tracker Wave 5 — Technical Report.

    methodology
    Retrieved on:
    2026-05-21
    Pages:
    35
    Archived source:
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    SHA-256: b64604b2d62d6e431a3b41ab4e41cd0312bae60e75c906ca4d53fbc9b3b5b386

  3. Ofcom (2024) OET W5 Data Tables— Wave 5 Data Tablesadditional source

    YouGov / Ofcom (2024). Online Experiences Tracker Wave 5 — Data Tables (xlsx).

    crosstabs
    Retrieved on:
    2026-05-21
    Archived source:
    Download XLSX
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    SHA-256: 75f3db327f197682e433126dab589c709fbbcb55acff4a96ba333ed12cc6493d

Study details & methodology

Name
“Technical report – The Online Experiences Tracker (Wave 5, January 2024)”
Country
“representative sample of UK internet users aged 13-84”
Publication year
“Technical report – The Online Experiences Tracker (Wave 5, January 2024)”

Publication year follows the first release of this wave’s questionnaire and tables (16 April 2024), listed by Ofcom: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/online-habits/internet-users-experience-of-harm-online?language=en

Fieldwork dates
“3rd and 22nd January 2024”

Wave 5 fieldwork 3–22 January 2024.

Sample size
“AGE: 13-17 543”

Youth sample: 543 respondents aged 13–17 within 7,611 total respondents aged 13–84. Harm and app-attribution questions have smaller eligible bases after consent, experience selection and routing.

Age range
“AGE: 13-17”

The entry covers the youth subgroup, not the full 13–84 sample.

Sampling
“undertaken by YouGov on behalf of Ofcom”

Non-probability online panel (YouGov); recruited with quotas to be nationally representative of UK internet users 13-84, then weighted.

Harms measured

Bullying
“Which, if any, of the following have you seen or experienced online in the last 4 weeks?…” “Persistent bullying online”

The list also includes one-off abusive behaviour or threats. Q8 asks about experiences seen or experienced, not only personal victimization.

Eating Disorder
“Which, if any, of the following have you seen or experienced online in the last 4 weeks?…” “Content relating to eating disorders”
Self-Harm
“Which, if any, of the following have you seen or experienced online in the last 4 weeks?…” “Content promoting self-harm”

The separate suicide item is also included. Both are exposure questions, rather than reports of the respondent’s own self-harm.

Violence
“Which, if any, of the following have you seen or experienced online in the last 4 weeks?…” “Content depicting or encouraging violence or injury”
Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII)
“Which, if any, of the following have you seen or experienced online in the last 4 weeks?…” “Sharing of, or threats to share, intimate images without consent”

Full item includes the example 'e.g. revenge porn'.

Contact
“Which, if any, of the following have you seen or experienced online in the last 4 weeks?…” “People sending unwanted/unsolicited sexual or nude images or videos, e.g. ‘cyber flashing’”

Per-app measurement by harm

Bullying
“What type of site or service were you using when you most recently experienced”

Q9 selects the most recent experience. Respondents who continue answer Q21 about the type of service, followed by a named-app question. The same app lists apply to the included harms. This is attribution of an experience, not a rate among all users of each app.

Eating Disorder
“What type of site or service were you using when you most recently experienced”

Q9 selects the most recent experience. Respondents who continue answer Q21 about the type of service, followed by a named-app question. The same app lists apply to the included harms. This is attribution of an experience, not a rate among all users of each app.

Self-Harm
“What type of site or service were you using when you most recently experienced”

Q9 selects the most recent experience. Respondents who continue answer Q21 about the type of service, followed by a named-app question. The same app lists apply to the included harms. This is attribution of an experience, not a rate among all users of each app.

Violence
“What type of site or service were you using when you most recently experienced”

Q9 selects the most recent experience. Respondents who continue answer Q21 about the type of service, followed by a named-app question. The same app lists apply to the included harms. This is attribution of an experience, not a rate among all users of each app.

Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII)
“What type of site or service were you using when you most recently experienced”

Q9 selects the most recent experience. Respondents who continue answer Q21 about the type of service, followed by a named-app question. The same app lists apply to the included harms. This is attribution of an experience, not a rate among all users of each app.

Contact
“What type of site or service were you using when you most recently experienced”

Q9 selects the most recent experience. Respondents who continue answer Q21 about the type of service, followed by a named-app question. The same app lists apply to the included harms. This is attribution of an experience, not a rate among all users of each app.