Woburn, MA – September 16, 2021 – Today Kaspersky released new research revealing the online content that was most popular with children during summer 2021. During the analyzed period, TikTok managed to overtake WhatsApp on the list of apps where kids around the world spent the most time. Instagram’s popularity among children continued to decline while Eurovision became popular, and Brawl Stars surpassed Roblox in popularity.
Summer is peak time for relaxation and entertainment for kids, with extra time to consume digital content, play online games and chat with friends. Kaspersky analyzed anonymized data, including search queries, Android applications and website categories, all voluntarily provided by users of Kaspersky’s parental control app, Kaspersky Safe Kids, to explore how the interests and needs of children have changed over the summer of 2021.
Children using Android devices this summer spent the most time globally on YouTube (32.9% of all usage time)[1]. TikTok (19%) overtook WhatsApp (16%) to come in second place. That broke from the rankings observed from November 2020 to April 2021 when the share of TikTok use was 14.9%, while WhatsApp was 18.1%.
In the U.S., YouTube was even more popular, leading the Android app rankings (40.6%), followed by TikTok (16.3%), Roblox (7.9%), Chrome (7%), Instagram (6%) and Snapchat (5.4%).
The top online activities kids around the world were interested in were videos and YouTube, and in particular queries related to video games (32.3%), such as on Let’s Play walkthroughs. Among the most popular “Let’s Players” were the English-speaking SSundee and MrBeast Gaming. Minecraft (25.9%) was the most popular game during the summer, while Brawl Start (4.9%) surpassed Roblox (4.6%).
The second most popular category among kids was music. Almost a fifth of all internet searches on YouTube (18.4%) were devoted to artists and clips. The most popular track of the summer was Astronaut in the Ocean by Masked Wolf, while Ariana Grande and Lil Nas X became the most popular performers.
Interestingly, the Eurovision Song Contest also turned out to be popular globally among children and adolescents. This year's winners, the Italian band Måneskin, have become one of the most popular teen bands around the world. On YouTube, kids most frequently searched for their songs Beggin', I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE and the Eurovision-winning song ZITTI E BUONI.
Among other internet trends was the explosive popularity of new toys Simple Dimple and Pop It. They were featured in music tracks that went viral on TikTok, as well as in a lot of toy reviews on YouTube.
“The research shows that children do not change their preferences that frequently and continue to watch the same type of content, but the main characters change,” said Anna Larkina, web content analysis expert at Kaspersky. “For example, Italian rockers Måneskin replace BTS, and the game Friday Night Funkin' overtakes Among Us. The numbers also show that music is of greater interest to modern children than sports. Even such global events as Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics could not capture their attention.”
To ensure children have a positive online experience, Kaspersky recommends that parents:
- Surf and learn together. See where children spend their time online and explore how to best keep them safe.
- Consider downloading parental control apps and discuss this topic with your child to explain how such apps work and why they need them to stay safe online.
- Spend more time communicating with children about online safety measures. Tell your children what must not, under any circumstances, be published on the internet and why.
About Kaspersky
Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky technologies and we help 240,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at usa.kaspersky.com.
Media Contact
Sawyer Van Horn
sawyer.vanhorn@Kaspersky.com
(781) 503-1866
[1] Kaspersky compiled the Top 10 most popular applications in the world. The percentage distribution in the TOP 10 reflects the number of hours spent in each of the applications, out of the total 10 apps
