The figures also show that five per cent of children have met up with someone they had only spoken to online, while 11 per cent of children said they have received a sexual message (one in 100 reported sending a sexual message).
Compiled by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the figures are for the year ending March 2020 and cover England and Wales. They cover children and young people aged 10 to 15.
It means that across England and Wales an estimated 682,000 young people exchanged online messages during the year in question with someone they had never met and 212,000 met up in person with someone they had only spoken to online.
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