The data showed that 79.1% of 16 to 34-year-olds were concerned at the amount of misinformation seen on social media, with a similar proportion among older generations.

However, despite the worries about the content being shared across social media networks, the younger age group spent two hours and 31 minutes on average on social media each day, which was almost an hour more than the average for all adults.

Almost three-quarters of adults used social media in a typical week, rising to almost nine in 10 among 16 to 34-year-olds, and all of the top five most use media properties among younger audiences were social media platforms.

TouchPoints said that people in the UK spent an average of seven hours and 24 minutes a day in front of a screen, including phones, TVs, computers and games consoles.

More than half of the younger generation ( 51.3%) said that AI could have a positive impact on people’s lives, dropping to 42.5% for 35 to 54-year-olds and 35.8% for the over-55s, bringing the average percentage for all adults down to 42.4%. 

IPA TouchPoints is a cross-media, cross-device database focusing on the daily habits and media usage of British adults aged 16 and over. The latest findings are based on a sample of 6,256 British adults.

Dan Flynn, director of media research at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), said: “We all have our various reasons for going on social media, but what is interesting from this data is that, in spite of our concerns about it serving up misinformation – we still choose to engage with it. This truly demonstrates the hold and power it has over us.”