Passive social media use, AI companionship, and online side hustles: UK adults’ media and online lives revealed

New research published today by Ofcom reveals how people in the UK use, understand and feel about the media and online services they interact with in their daily lives.

In line with our duty to promote and research media literacy, Ofcom's annual Adults' Media Use and Attitudes and Adults' Media Lives research reports tracked trends in the nation's media habits and online behaviours over the last year.[1]

The research reveals, among other things, more circumspect relationships with social media; rapid adoption of AI tools; a continuation of online enterprising; and mixed views when it comes to trust in news sources.

Here's a summary of this year's top trends:

Adults less active on social media, favouring limited lifespan over permanent posts:

Social media use remains widespread, with nine in 10 adult internet users (89%) using at least one social media platform, rising to 97% among 16-34-year-olds.

The research suggests, however, that social media use is becoming more passive and circumspect. Around half of adult social media users (49%) now actively post, share or comment- down from 61% in 2024 - while the proportion exploring new websites fell from 70% to 56% during the same period [2].

Participants in our qualitative Media Lives study also expressed being more selective about what and how they post on social media. Some have stopped posting altogether, while others appear to be more mindful of their digital footprint, preferring limited lifespan posts - for example Instagram Stories rather than permanent 'Grid' posts. More adults than last year are concerned about their online posts causing them problems in the future (49% v 43%).

Screentime concerns are widespread:

The proportion of online adults who feel the benefits of being online outweigh the risks fell to 59%, down from 72% last year. Fewer social media users also say that social media platforms are good for their mental health (36% down from 42%).

Screentime concerns are widespread, with two thirds (67%) admitting they sometimes spend too long on their devices, while 40% say this happens most days. Some participants in our qualitative study are adopting particular strategies to take time away from their screens, including setting time limits on their device, deleting apps, and leaving their smartphone behind when leaving the house.

AI adoption accelerates, including for companionship and creativity:

More than half (54%) of UK adults now use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, particularly driven by uptake among younger adults (79% of 16-24s and 74% of 25-34s). Around one in eight (12%) AI users said they use these tools for conversational purposes, rising to around one in five 25-34-year-olds (19%).

Some participants in our qualitative study appear to be interacting with AI as if it were a person, often unconsciously. In some cases, they reported using AI to seek relationship breakup advice or to keep them company when working from home. AI is also being used for creative tasks, including room layout planning, wedding speech writing and creating artwork.

Trust in news sources is mixed and increasingly divided:

Most adults (85%) say they use mainstream media [3] for news, but trust varies. Around one in five adults (19%) say they always trust it to be accurate, although a similar proportion (21%) always question its accuracy.

This trust divide is also reflected in our qualitative research. While a majority of these participants consider the main broadcast media brands to be the most trustworthy sources for news stories about UK politics or conflict overseas, a few are deeply mistrustful of mainstream media [3], preferring to access their news from independent content creators and citizen journalists on YouTube. Both groups seem to be becoming more entrenched in their views.

Income-generating online enterprises:

Participants in our Media Lives study continue to proactively look for ways to use the internet to generate income. Some are using online marketplaces such as Vinted and Amazon Marketplace semi-professionally to sell unwanted items, while others reported setting up small retail enterprises on Facebook or even engaging in Bitcoin mining.

YouTube-only viewing among men:

For participants in our qualitative study, YouTube has, in previous years, predominantly been used to access content related to their personal interests. From the latest wave of research, however, it now seems to serve a broader range of viewing tastes and needs. These include "background" viewing - sometimes as a replacement for daytime TV - and videos about a host of random and eclectic topics.

For some male participants in our qualitative study, You Tube is now their main or only form of viewing. Participants mentioned how the algorithm, search function and channel subscriptions makes it easy to find interesting content to watch, compared to scrolling through an electronic programme guide or navigating a streaming service interface.

Online confidence is high, but this doesn't always reflect skill:

Overall confidence online is high (89%), but confidence in specific skills, such as recognising advertising (81%) or judging accuracy (72%), is lower. When we tested people's ability to spot a fake social media profile, younger social media users (16-24-year-olds) performed best (88%) while 25-34- and 35-44-year-olds, despite being highly active online, were most likely to misjudge it (17% and 15% respectively). When presented with a scam email, a majority of online adults (82%) indicated they would respond safely, although this has decreased in recent years - down from 88% in 2022.

Notes to editors

1. The findings provide further context for our wider activity with grassroot organisations, corporates, policymakers and platforms [1] as set out in our Three-Year Media Literacy Strategy
2. Trends this year are indicative due to changes in methodology.
3. We asked respondents to think about their views on "the mainstream media sources, so news organisations such as the BBC, ITV, Sky News, the press such as The Sun, The Times, The Guardian, the Daily Mail etc".
4. The Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Tracker is a quantitative survey of 7,533 UK adults aged 16+. Fieldwork was carried out between 29 September and 28 November 2025 through a mix of online panels and face-to-face interviews.
5. Adults Media Lives is a longitudinal, qualitative project which has been running since 2005. It follows c.20 participants over time, with more than half having taken part in the study for at least 15 years. Interviews of up to 90 minutes are conducted face-to-face in participants' homes in order to understand their relationships with media and technology and how they have evolved over time.