Kaspersky says that children’s interest in AI tools has more than doubled in the past year. At the same time, YouTube is still one of the most used apps by children all over the world.
More and more kids are using AI chatbots.
Children between the ages of 8 and 14 spend a lot of time in front of screens, according to a Kaspersky report. Younger kids can spend up to six hours every day. Preteens can spend up to nine hours each day. YouTube (42.90%), WhatsApp (16.07%), Instagram (8.97%), TikTok (5.88%), and Roblox (4.44%) are the five Android apps that users in Pakistan spend the most time on.
There has been a significant rise in people wanting to use AI-powered chatbots. This year, Character.AI became one of the top 20 most-used applications by children, which is the first time an AI app has made the list. AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Character.AI now accounts for more than 7.5% of search queries, twice as much as the 3.19% share in 2023-2024.
Video Streaming and Chat Apps Dominate Children’s Online Activity
Children spend most of their time online looking for video streaming platforms, as 18% of their searches are for watching videos. YouTube is still the most popular Android app, with its share rising from 28.13% to 29.77% over the past year
The usage of Facebook and Snapchat decreased. In the meantime, WhatsApp surpassed TikTok’s 12.76% to take second place with 14.72%. Kids now share links, memes, and short videos via chat apps rather than other channels.
Roblox, Minecraft and Poki which can be played online, are still very popular. Netflix, Twitch and Disney+ are still popular, but they are often attacked by cyber threats.
According to Anna Larkina of Kaspersky, parents ought to be aware of their kids’ online preferences. This enables them to initiate crucial conversations and safely guide children. To help with this, she suggests utilising digital parenting resources.
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