{"id":24145,"date":"2025-06-02T15:19:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T11:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?p=24145"},"modified":"2025-06-27T16:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T12:59:39","slug":"what-kids-are-doing-online-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/what-kids-are-doing-online-2025\/24145\/","title":{"rendered":"What kids are doing online"},"content":{"rendered":"

The internet is vast \u2014 and it\u2019s all too easy to end up in the wrong place; especially if you\u2019re a child. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to help kids navigate cyberspace and guide them toward safe, age-appropriate content. But how can you know what\u2019s safe or appropriate if you don\u2019t even know what kids are into these days?<\/p>\n

This is where Kaspersky Safe Kids<\/a>\u00a0comes in. We\u2019ve collected a year\u2019s worth of data from our app, and can now answer that persistent question in every parent\u2019s mind: \u201cWhat\u2019s my child actually doing online?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaspersky experts have conducted a study to find out what kids are searching for online (including on YouTube), what apps they\u2019re using, which games they love, what music they listen to, and which influencers they follow. You\u2019ll find answers to these and other questions in the full version of the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Searching for brainrot memes<\/h2>\n

We discovered that memes make up 4.87% of the content kids search for on YouTube \u2014 a significant percentage. Unsurprisingly, music (21.11%) and influencers (17.17%) are the most popular searches, with cartoons at 6.19% and memes right behind. As for kids\u2019 taste in memes\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s pretty specific. Right now, brainrot content is hugely popular among children worldwide.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a>

Italian brainrot memes are currently number one with kids all over the world<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re an active TikTok user, you might already be familiar with a three-legged shark in sneakers or a crocodile-cum-bomber-plane, and if someone asks you \u201cWho\u2019s stronger: Tralalero Tralala or Tung Tung Tung Sahur?\u201d<\/em> you\u2019ll be ready to name your favorite. If none of that makes any sense to you, here\u2019s an explanation: these are the main characters of the new brainrot meme wave. They\u2019ve replaced the previous fad of Skibidi Toilet<\/a> \u2014 and kids around the world absolutely love them.<\/p>\n

Listening to tunes<\/h2>\n

Music is by far the most popular children\u2019s search category on YouTube \u2014 making up over one-fifth of all their searches. And no major changes to what particular genres they prefer have been noted: kids still listen to things like phonk<\/a> and nightcore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As for specific artists, there are some interesting changes. Yes, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are still hugely popular \u2014 but now they\u2019re sharing the spotlight with Sabrina Carpenter, whose hit Espresso<\/a> went viral, along with several K-pop stars. The most popular song of all was Like Jennie<\/a> by South Korean artist Jennie. Meanwhile, the most popular group was BLACKPINK \u2014 of which Jennie is a member.<\/p>\n

\"Jennie<\/a>

Jennie is an extremely popular Korean artist (it\u2019s not her in the screenshot)<\/p><\/div>\n

Searching for favorite game content (guess which!)<\/h2>\n

Gaming influencers took third place in YouTube search popularity (with 17.15% of all searches) and general game content came fourth (with 10.14%). Combined, that makes game content even more popular than music. In Google searches, games ranked second in popularity after streaming platforms \u2014 making up 13.27%.<\/p>\n

As for which games kids love the most \u2014 almost no surprises here: Minecraft, Brawl Stars, Fortnite, Roblox and\u2026 Sprunki. Sprunki is a newcomer to this list. We suspect this is just a passing trend and may not be as popular next year. However, for the present at least, YouTube is overflowing with Sprunki videos: content creators are posting let\u2019s plays<\/em> and creating their own full-fledged cartoons based on the game.<\/p>\n

\"Sprunki<\/a>

Sprunki has broken into the top YouTube search trends alongside Brawl Stars and Roblox<\/p><\/div>\n

These same games, as we\u2019ve covered before<\/a>, are also a common target for scammers. They regularly come up with new schemes promising free skins, in-game currency, or gifts in exchange for in-game actions \u2014 but really they\u2019re just trying to trick kids and drain their parents\u2019 credit cards. So if your child is into any of these games, it\u2019s worth telling them about these and other potential dangers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What else are kids interested in online?<\/h2>\n

From what we\u2019ve observed, children around the world currently share a fairly common digital environment. They all enjoy the same games, follow the same influencers, listen to the same music, and laugh at the same memes.<\/p>\n

One more thing unites them \u2014 they tend to adopt new technologies much earlier than most adults. ChatGPT and other popular neural networks have already become a normal part of kids\u2019 online experience. Now, many children even create their own chatbots using Character.ai<\/a> \u2014 just to \u201cchat\u201d with characters from their favorite games, movies, influencers, and other icons.<\/p>\n

Helping children navigate cyberspace is the duty of every responsible adult. Of course, it\u2019s parents who know their child best, so we just want to share some general tips.<\/p>\n