Children are going online and accessing social media platforms even before they reach primary school age, a study has found.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) conducted face-to-face surveys with 1,200 Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 14 and below last year to study their media consumption habits.

The study found that YouTube was the most commonly used social media platform for children aged six and below, suggesting that parents may be the ones helping their tots go online. The results, which were released last month, found that about 77 per cent of respondents have gone online, while 51 per cent have used social media.

While about 60 per cent of the respondents said they started using social media between ages seven and 10, 13 per cent had started earlier at the age of six or younger.

The top three most popular social media platforms were Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Mr Chong Ee Jay, manager at Touch Cyber Wellness, said that with platforms such as YouTube, "a parent may give the child a device to watch a Barney video, but the child may end up linking to a trailer for the 50 Shades Of Grey movie".

bbabo.Net