WhatsApp, YouTube dominate SA children’s screen time as online threats mount

WhatsApp and YouTube accounted for most app time among children in Kaspersky’s South African dataset, while experts warned of rising risks including grooming, cyberbullying, sextortion and AI-generated abuse.

WhatsApp and YouTube dominate the time children spend on the most popular apps in Kaspersky’s South African dataset, but the cybersecurity company warns that these platforms can also expose young users to grooming, cyberbullying and emerging AI-related abuse.

WhatsApp accounted for 33.8% of the time spent across the 10 most-used apps during the first eight months of 2026, followed by YouTube at 26.8%, TikTok at 7.8% and Instagram at 6.8%.

The findings are based on anonymised data from Kaspersky Safe Kids users on Android devices and desktop computers and should not be read as representative of all South African children.

Multiplayer gaming and communication platforms also featured among the online resources used by children, including Roblox, Steam and Discord.

Kaspersky said platforms that allow children to communicate directly with others can expose them to strangers who may use deception and manipulation to gain trust, obtain personal images or videos, arrange meetings, blackmail them or draw them into harmful or illegal activities.

The global cybersecurity and digital privacy company said online grooming, phishing and cyberbullying remained key risks.

Andrey Sidenko, Kaspersky’s head of child online safety, said malicious actors could pose as peers or use information children had shared on social media to gain their trust.

“Parents should encourage children not to interact with strangers, share personal photos or sensitive information, or keep online conversations secret,” he said.

The warnings come as Childline South Africa reports a rise in cyberbullying cases and changing forms of online harm involving children.

Speaking earlier this month, Childline South Africa’s Bhavna Lutchman said the organisation received 105 calls relating to cyberbullying during its last financial year, a 7.14% increase from the previous reporting period.

“The shift is clear: cyberbullying is no longer just text-based. It has become highly visual and viral,” Lutchman said.

She said common complaints involved images or videos being recorded or shared without consent and malicious rumours being spread online.

Childline had also received reports concerning an Instagram and WhatsApp account that allegedly exposed minors’ private information, spread sexual rumours and shared inappropriate material. The organisation said the matter was reported to Instagram and escalated to the South African Police Service’s Serial and Electronic Crimes Unit.

The risks extend beyond cyberbullying to other forms of online exploitation.

The Film and Publication Board (FPB) has described sextortion as a form of online child sexual exploitation and abuse affecting South Africa. It recently welcomed the arrest of a South African suspect allegedly linked to an international digital sextortion syndicate.

The FPB has urged parents and children to report harmful or exploitative online content, while warning that sextortion cases can involve threats to distribute intimate material, unless victims comply with demands.

Kaspersky also warned that photographs and videos shared online could increasingly be repurposed through generative AI to create fabricated content or deepfakes, making children’s digital reputation increasingly important as publicly shared material could later be altered or reused in ways that affect their privacy, safety or reputation.

Lutchman said parents should watch for changes in behaviour such as withdrawal, secrecy around devices, disturbed sleep or severe distress after using a phone.

She said schools also had a role to play because online abuse often followed children into classrooms, affecting attendance, concentration and relationships.