YouTube, TikTok and Messenger are Pinoy kids’ favorite apps — Kaspersky data

New data from Kaspersky revealed that Filipino children are extremely interested in video content right now. Statistics from the cybersecurity company show that the top five applications young Pinoy kids are spending time most on are YouTube (26.46%), TikTok (16.75%) Messenger (16.07%), the popular game Roblox (13.67%), and Facebook (9.11%).

Kaspersky reviewed anonymized data such as search queries, the most popular Android applications and website categories provided voluntarily by Kaspersky Safe Kids users to explore the most popular children’s interests between January to March 2022.

The search activity of children is the best indicator of their interests. With this data, parents are given a better understanding of their children's current favorite subjects and passions.

Kaspersky Safe Kids is a module in select Kaspersky products and is also a standalone multi-platform solution that is used by parents to protect children from undesirable content. It also allows the cybersecurity company to collect anonymous statistics about children’s online activities for which filtering is suggested. Every year, data gathered from Kaspersky Safe Kids is analyzed to find out the interests of the children and how they are adapting in the digital world.

Other apps in the list

The rest of the favorite apps of Filipino kids for the first quarter of the year are the Chrome browser (6.39%), YouTube Kids (3.54%), Netflix (3.08%), the first-person shooter game Call of Duty (2.56%), and the mobile online battle arena (MOBA) game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (2.37%).

"As one of the world's most active digital citizens, it is no surprise that the Filipino children are enthusiastic explorers of the digital world themselves. Although, having not gone back physically to school since the pandemic, I understand that the majority of these kids are relying on the Internet not just for study but also for play and entertainment, most likely because of remote learning blues. We encourage parents to stay informed and commit to sitting down with their kids extensively as it's an effective way to keep their children responsible and safe digital citizens," said Sandra Lee, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.

Worldwide picture

Globally, YouTube still ranked first at 31.6% followed by TikTok at 19%, WhatsApp at 18%, Roblox (7.5%) and Chrome closes the top five (7.3%).

Roblox's closest competitor, Brawl Stars, lost a little in popularity and took only 4.8%. Interestingly, YouTube Kids, a special app for children, is not very popular, with a share of only 2.1%.

From the statistics of children’s requests in Kaspersky Safe Kids, among the images that emerged were:

1. Anime: Among Japanese cartoons, children are most interested in Naruto, which chronicles the life of a noisy and restless teenage ninja and My Hero Academia, which is about a boy born without superpowers in a world where superpowers have become commonplace, but who still dreams of becoming a hero.
2. Bloggers: These are opinion leaders for many children and are watched and imitated, helping many kids to learn about the world and find friends among like-minded people. Below, we highlight a few of the most popular, based on children's search queries. It is important to note that almost all bloggers also have accounts on several popular social networks, so they can be viewed on other platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat etc.).
• Sssniperwolf – a popular blogger who shoots entertaining content on a variety of topics, focusing on humorous sketches or challenges.
• Nikocado Avocado – calls himself the "King of the Mukbangs". Mukbang is a style of video where the blogger eats a lot of food in front of the camera and chats with viewers. It may seem strange at first, but such sessions often discuss popular news or high-profile topics.
• Piper Rockelle – lives in Hollywood and shoots various entertainment content, challenges, and talks about her life.
• Michou – is a popular French blogger who films a wide variety of entertainment content. These can be reactions to other videos, pranks, various joint viewing of programs, and other options.
• Brent Rivera – shoots a variety of content, such as pranks, experiments or challenges, stories about his life, as well as different collaborations with other bloggers.
3. DIY (do it yourself): A popular category of videos which shows how to create a product with a step by step guide. It can be anything from a birdhouse to assembling a computer or garden furniture. These videos are very popular, as they can be used to start an interesting hobby or find like-minded people. Among the most frequent requests in the children’s category include:
• 5-Minute Craft – a channel with a large number of subscribers (76.3 million). It’s a compilation of videos explaining how users can create almost anything with their own hands —from fixing a tap in the kitchen to sewing clothes for dolls or ways to have fun with science.
4. Educational: Modern social networks and platforms contain a wide variety of educational content. So it’s worth getting to know the subjects your children are interested in, so that you can better relate to them. Among the most popular queries in the education category are:
• Geometry Dash – a popular 2D computer game that consists of passing a level with many obstacles to rhythmic music. Apart from the built-in levels, players can create their own and upload them for other players to complete.
• Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell – a YouTube channel explaining science and the world we live in with fun and interesting graphics.
5. Game-related requests:
1. MrBeast – a popular gaming blogger with almost 93.6 million subscribers on YouTube, credited with pioneering a genre of YT videos that centers on expensive stunts. Now the content is mostly entertainment.
2. Minecraft – one of the most popular games among children because it’s very simple - the players are in a simple three-dimensional world and can build freely, creating complex structures from these cubes. There is a huge community of fans around this game, and many popular blogs on various platforms such as YouTube or Twitch. For instance, DanTDM, Jelly, theAtlanticCraft. For Twitch, the most popular are TommyInnit, LyonWGFClub, RanbooLive.
3. Roblox is an online multiplayer platform that allows users to play games they have created as well as games from other users. The platform features user-created games and virtual worlds, ranging from traditional racing and role-playing games (RPGs) to simulations and obstacle courses. This game is also devoted to a large number of blogs and bloggers such as Noquia2013, Ulove 11, and Sasseh.
4. Brawls Stars – a multiplayer game that aims to advance along the gaming trophy road, participate in battles with other players, as well as discovering and improving new playable characters with unique abilities and characteristics. Popular Twitch channels for this game include BrawlsStars, TheAlvaro845 and Trebor.
6. Memes
• “Animation memes” are the most popular meme requests among kids. They are typically short animations of a character dancing or sometimes singing along to music with the intent to be spread or repeated by other animators with their own characters. Some examples can be found here, here, and here.
• Another example of a most searched meme is Beluga cat. Lots of people will have seen this meme at least once.