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Ofcom Online Experiences Tracker (OET) Wave 7

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

Geo
UK
Year
2025
N
588
Ages
13-17
Per-app coverage
Harms
Offline—

Notes · Non-probability; 588 teens of 7,966 total. Wave 7 was the last OET wave to include 13–17-year-olds; from Wave 8 in summer 2025, OET samples adults aged 18+ only.

References

  1. Ofcom (2025) OET W7 Questionnaire— Wave 7 Questionnaire

    YouGov / Ofcom (2025). Online Experiences Tracker Wave 7 — Survey Questionnaire.

    instrument
    Retrieved on:
    2026-05-21
    Pages:
    33
    Archived source:
    Download PDF
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    File verification details

    SHA-256: 5e83ef5ccc40064e78e2ca1684c520931f926931fcfa8ab86049c6d2af16e56e

  2. Ofcom (2025) OET W7 Tech Report— Wave 7 Technical Report

    YouGov / Ofcom (2025). Online Experiences Tracker Wave 7 — Technical Report.

    methodology
    Retrieved on:
    2026-05-21
    Pages:
    42
    Archived source:
    Download PDF
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    File verification details

    SHA-256: 8286348f9aa9a365bf2a683b2ad1ae90e43c55a582c02107e1ccbd3c0725abc2

  3. Ofcom (2025) OET W7 Data Tables— Wave 7 Data Tablesadditional source

    YouGov / Ofcom (2025). Online Experiences Tracker Wave 7 — Data Tables (xlsx).

    crosstabs
    Retrieved on:
    2026-05-21
    Archived source:
    Download XLSX
    File verification
    File verification details

    SHA-256: c2a04616a7f5d1384b8b4088ec43dcdf0a298383163fe1e51be097af96c3236b

  4. YouGov / Ofcom (2025). Online Experiences Tracker Wave 8 — Technical Report.

    Documents the transition to an adult-only sampling frame from Wave 8.

    Open publisher report ↗Open archived copy ↗

Study details & methodology

Name
“Technical report – The Online Experiences Tracker (Wave 7, January 2025)”
Country
“representative sample of UK internet users aged 13-84”
Publication year
“Technical report – The Online Experiences Tracker (Wave 7, January 2025)”

Publication year follows the first release of this wave’s questionnaire and tables (16 April 2025), 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 - 22nd January 2025”

Wave 7 fieldwork 3–22 January 2025.

Sample size
“AGE: 13-17 588”

Youth sample: 588 respondents aged 13–17 within 7,966 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 encouraging or assisting serious 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.