Internet users are becoming increasingly concerned about the nature of the online world, as pressures continue to grow on tech firms to clean it up and keep everybody safer.

The proportion of UK adults concerned about using the internet has grown from 59 per cent in 2018 to 78 per cent this year, according to a study from Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

In many cases, their concerns are driven by having experienced a potentially harmful experience in the past year – with 61 per cent of adults and 79 per cent of children aged between 12 and 15 suffering at least one incident of that nature.

Despite their concerns, 59 per cent of adults believe that the benefits of the internet outweigh the risks, while 61 per cent of children think it makes their lives better.

The general rise in internet worries can also be linked to the increasing amount of time people are spending online – making them more susceptible to regularly observing harmful experiences. Online time is growing by around seven per cent a year, with the average UK adult now spending three hours 15 minutes online per day last year – a rise of 11 minutes from 2017 and the equivalent of close to 50 days on the internet.

Each week, in the UK, 44m people send or receive emails, 29m send instant messages, 30m bank or pay for bills via the internet, 27m shop online, and 21m download information for work, school, or university.

But, within this, the internet’s issues are never too far away. 34 per cent of adult respondents had received unsolicited emails in the past year, while 25 per cent had encountered fake news, and 22 per cent scams or fraud.

39 per cent of children experience offensive language online, 28 per cent received unwelcome friend requests, 23 per cent encountered cyberbullying, and 20 per cent encountered trolling.

For adults, most potential harmful experiences occurred on Facebook (28 per cent), followed by Instagram (16 per cent) and Twitter (12 per cent). And only 40 per cent of adults feel that websites and social media platforms provide the tools to keep them safe online – this figure rises to 55 per cent among children.

With the increased exposure to the internet and the growing pressures on tech firms to fix up, more adults are now in support of online regulation. 70 per cent of adults now favour tighter rules for social media sites, compared to 53 per cent in 2018. For video-sharing sites, you’re looking at 64 per cent of adults versus 46 per cent in 2018. And, for instant messaging services, it’s 61 per cent versus 40 per cent in 2018.

However, 47 per cent of adults still recognise the role websites and social media platforms have in supporting free speech.

“As most of us spend more time than ever online, we’re increasingly worried about harmful content – and also more likely to come across it,” said Yih-Choung Teh, group director of strategy and research at Ofcom.

“For most people, those risks are still outweighed by the huge benefits of the internet. And while most internet users favour tighter rules in some areas, particularly social media, people also recognise the importance of protecting free speech – which is one of the internet’s great strengths.”