What children searched for online this summer

A new study by Kaspersky Safe Kids has highlighted the YouTube content that dominated children's preferences between June and August 2023. The cartoon series Skibidi Toilet emerged as the most popular trend. Lacey's Flash Games was most searched for in the games category. As for movies, Chinese dramas We Fall in Love and Love Forever Young garnered the most views.

On average, 61% of children get their first digital devices between the ages of 8 and 12, sometimes even earlier. Children explore cyberspace, make friends, play games, watch movies and accumulate knowledge. Kaspersky looked at children's online searches to understand what caught their attention this summer. The analysis is based on anonymised data voluntarily provided by Kaspersky Safe Kids users: search queries and the most popular Android apps installed.

This summer, the 3 Android device apps most used by kids this summer were YouTube (30%), TikTok (17%) and WhatsApp (15%). Instagram came in fourth place (9%). Interestingly, YouTube kids has no significant impact among kids, registering only 2.5%.

A similar picture is recorded for the sample from Greece, with Youtube being the app that children use the most with a 30% share. TikTok comes in second place with 21%, while in third place is Instagram with 14.85%. This is followed by Chrome (7%) and Roblox (5%), with Youtube Kids distinguished by equally low penetration among the child population, with just 1.6% of installations involving this platform.

In terms of YouTube, the most searched-for content among children was channels and vloggers whose videos have entertainment, lifestyle or challenge content (21%). The "other" classification, which typically includes memes and other types of unclassifiable stories, registered 21%. Gaming bloggers came in 3rd place representing 15% of searches. Additional categories at the top of the list were categories such as music (13%), movies, cartoons, TV shows (12%) and games (9%).

The Skibidi Toilet was one of the biggest trends of the summer. This is an animated series hosted on YouTube Shorts and created by Georgian influencer "DaFuq!?Boom!". It started with short videos consisting of abstract frames in which the main character takes the form of a head crawling out of the toilet, in a combination of Biser King's "Dom Dom Yes Yes" and Timbaland's "Give it to me". Now it has been turned into a video series with its own style, plot as well as standalone characters. Scibidi Toilet accounts for almost 9% of the TOP-1000 search requests on YouTube.

As for YouTube vloggers and influencers, this summer was dominated by Triple Charm, shfa, ViktoriaSarina, Fede Vigevani, Michou, Space Family, Fala Sério, A4, whose content is mainly lifestyle videos, challenges, unboxing videos and beauty tips.

In terms of gaming content, Lacey's Flash Games were most sought after this summer. Like Skibidi Toilet, Lacey's Games evolved into a web horror based on Lacey - the character, who appears, for example, in the flash game "Lacey's Wardrobe" (basically the existence of this game in real life intrigues viewers). Various content creators are spinning horror stories based on the game - this has led Lacey to the top of this summer's list of horror characters.

Among the key gamer influencers, the most popular were IShowSpeed, Aphmau, Paluten, Problems and Furious Jumper.

In the "movies, cartoons and TV shows" category, cartoons took the lead - accounting for nearly 50% of searches. TV shows make up 26%, a significant difference compared to anime which received 16% of searches.

The MSA (My Story Animated) channel, which includes Lady Bug, My Little Pony, Peppa Pig and Helluva boss, remains the undisputed leader among animation providers. In terms of TV shows, Chinese TV dramas We Fall In Love (2023) and Love Forever Young (2023) gained the attention of children.

Music interests continue to revolve around K-pop - almost 19% of searches were for South Korean bands, with the band BlackPink leading the way. The Barbie craze has also caught the attention of children - with many searches including AQUA's "Barbie Girl" and Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice's "Barbie World".

To ensure that children have an enjoyable online experience, Kaspersky recommends that parents:

• Get involved in your children's online activities from an early age, thereby making it a firmly established condition so that you can then guide them on online safety practices.
• Consider downloading parental control apps and discuss this with your child, explaining how these apps work and why they are needed to keep children safe online.
• Make conversations about cybersecurity more enjoyable and interesting by discussing the topic with your child through games and other forms of entertainment.
• Try to be mindful of your own habits. Do you use your smartphone when you eat or chat? See if there are patterns of behavior in your children that mimic your habits. Do they react differently when you put your phone away?
• Ask your child not to agree to any privacy settings on their own and ask for help from you. Adults should get into the habit of reading all privacy agreements.