Kids' Smartwatches: From Safety Tools to Social Traps

A 13-year-old middle school student recently drew public attention after revealing that he spent nine to 10 hours a day on his children's smartwatch – not making calls, but "farming likes."

Over time, his account accumulated 1.31 million likes. He later sold the account for 1,000 yuan (US$140), earning a total of 3,500 yuan over more than two years, Hubei Daily reported.

His case is far from isolated.

Across China, children's smartwatches – once marketed primarily for location tracking and emergency contact – have become miniature social platforms.

Many now include personal homepages, virtual avatars, friend networks, likes, levels and rankings. Among elementary school students, maintaining a "homepage," expanding friend lists and exchanging likes have become daily routines, often referred to by children as "circle-building."

High-like accounts are referred to as "big shots." Friend limits of 150 per account further heighten competition: inactive peers may be deleted, and some children sacrifice real-life friendships to maintain virtual connections.

For some, the pursuit of likes has grown extreme. Parents report children staying up until 3am to exchange likes, or waking at 5am to meet informal "like quotas" set by online peers, according to the report.

To grow their accounts faster, children add large numbers of strangers – a fact many parents remain unaware of, as smartwatch chat histories and profiles are rarely checked.

In this closed ecosystem, popularity is currency. High-like accounts are treated as status symbols and, increasingly, commodities.

Online searches reveal posts offering paid "like services," automated tools, or direct sales of high-level accounts.

Parents worry the system fuels comparison, vanity and unhealthy spending habits. "If parents refuse to pay, will children try to find other ways to get money?" one mother asked. "And once this starts, will it spread to others?"

Amid mounting criticism, Xiaotiancai, one of the major smartwatch brands recently removed its "sports likes" and ranking features.

But the broader issues persist. Experts argue the problem lies not only with individual products, but with how social incentives are designed into children's devices.

"Children's smartwatch social circles are no longer simple communication tools," said Liu Xiaochun, director of the Internet Law Research Center at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "They now carry elements of competition and comparison. This makes platform responsibility and protective design essential."

Regulators are beginning to respond. A new mandatory national standard for children's smartwatches, issued in December 2025, will take effect in January 2027.

It sets comprehensive requirements covering content safety, data protection, addiction prevention, time limits, and payment controls, while restricting the pre-installation of games, short videos and live-streaming apps that may harm children's well-being.

Industry analysts say the rules mark a significant step, but caution that regulation alone is not enough. As children's smartwatches, tablets and learning devices continue to blur the boundaries between education, entertainment and social networking, protecting minors will require coordinated efforts from manufacturers, regulators and families alike.