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'Sex' makes list of top search terms for children

The term is the ninth most searched term for children under seven, but doesn't make the top 20 for older teens.

By Stuart Turton, 17 Dec 2009 at 17:15

Symantec has released a list of the most popular search terms used by children and teenagers - and it could set off a few alarm bells among parents.

The security firm collects data from its OnlineFamily.Norton parental control software, and the results are collated from the searches of 4,000 UK children aged 18 and under.

Across all age ranges, the top five search terms hold relatively steady, with Facebook, YouTube, Google appearing in the top spots for all age groups.

However, the lists begin to take on a very different complexion in the top 20. In the 8-12 age range, eBay, CBBC and flash-games site Miniclip debut, with sex and porn making an unwelcome appearance at 11th and 18th place respectively.

Surprisingly, sex ranks ninth in the list of search terms for the under 7s age bracket, though it doesn’t even make the top 20 for the 13-18 year olds, which is dominated by shopping sites eBay, Amazon and Argos. Porn appears as the 14th most searched term in this demographic.

The study also breaks down the results by gender, and it appears both boys and girls are equally curious about sex; the search term is the seventh most popular among boys and 10th most popular among girls.

Indeed, there’s very little to choose between the top 10 lists, beyond the fact that CBBC and Hotmail appear for girls and not for boys – who propel Miniclip into their top ten.

The results suggest celebrities aren't exactly high on kids' priorities these days. Cheryl Cole is the highest ranked celeb across all lists - usually hovering just outside the top 20 - with Michael Jackson never far behind.

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1 comments

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"Unwelcome" Bias

Stuart Turton certainly tips his hand with his approach here. I don't need him implying a child searching for "ebay" at 8 y/o is on the straight and narrow (despite no ability to pay for transactions and a limited grasp on finance) yet a simple search for "sex" as a topic is, in his words, "unwelcome". Turton's personal take on this is irrelevant, but bleeds through here all the same.

Kids are curious about the world around them. It's no mystery they will search out this stuff, particularly given the sad excuse for "education" many parents provide on the matter. Sadly, Turton would rather latch onto the negative implications on our behalf. No thanks.

P.S.: Teenagers search for "porn" instead of "sex" because they already know what it is. It is amusing that this also seems to confound Turton.

By Ip_nonsense574f8 on Thursday Dec 17