Insights from 15+ years of YPulse research on 8-39-year-olds. No slop from the open internet. Every answer shows the report, the question and the sample.
General models learned young people secondhand, from outdated studies, press releases masked as studies, and, Internet clickbait. Our 400,000+ yearly interviews were never on the open web, so Claude won’t have them.*
| Comparison | Generic AI on its own | YPulse AI |
|---|---|---|
| Who it has heard from under 18 | Almost no one. Trusted under-18 data on the open web is thin and unconsented. | 13-17-year-olds every week. 8-12-year-olds every quarter in North America. |
| How current it is | Frozen at a training cutoff, usually months to years old. | New survey waves added as they field. 3 billion+ new datapoints a year. |
| What it can cut by | Nothing. It can only restate what it read. | Each study’s own respondents, by age, gender, country, race and ethnicity, LGBTQ+, parents, and students. |
| How the data was collected | Whatever got published: studies, press releases, forum posts. No one fielded a survey for your question. | A short, purpose-built survey for each topic, fielded to a fresh sample. No panel fatigue, no aging cohorts. |
| Whether you can check it | Rarely. When it cites a source, you can’t tell which question or sample a number came from. | Every answer names the report, the question and the sample, with the source one click away. |
* Love Claude? We do, too. And ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Slack. You can now access YPulse AI with those platforms. Learn more about YPulse MCP.
Same question, two tools. YPulse AI answers from YPulse survey data and names the report, the question and the sample. Claude answers on its own, with no access to YPulse data.
Where do 8-12-year-olds find out about the toys and games they want?
Kids aged 8 to 12 (often called “tweens”) usually hear about toys and games from a mix of screens and people. Here are the main sources, based on general industry knowledge rather than any specific dataset:
I’m not sure of the exact ranking or percentages, which vary by survey, age and gender. For reliable figures, look at recent youth research such as YPulse’s own data, or studies from Common Sense Media or Pew.
The answer is crystal clear: YouTube is the #1 way tweens discover toys and games. According to YPulse’s Tweens: Hobbies, Sports, and Play report (2025), 55% of 8–12-year-olds turn to YouTube ads or videos to find out about the toys and games they want. Here’s the full breakdown, by gender:
| Discovery source | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube ads or videos | 56% | 53% |
| Friends or classmates | 54% | 53% |
| Seeing them in a store | 40% | 41% |
| Social media videos | 34% | 39% |
| Parents or family | 32% | 35% |
| In a video game | 36% | 26% |
| TV shows or movies | 29% | 30% |
| Streaming service commercials | 26% | 24% |
| Seeing them on an online store | 21% | 22% |
| Cable TV commercials | 19% | 22% |
Source: YPulse Tweens: Hobbies, Sports, and Play (2025), North America, 1,500 8–12-year-olds, fielded April 4–30, 2025.
What’s striking is the one-two punch of YouTube and friends, both around 53–56%, while traditional channels trail far behind…
…YPulse AI had even more to share. Get a demo and we’ll show you how much exclusive data you get from one prompt.
How it works. Your question is matched to a survey question, the data is queried for the group you asked about, and the answer is written from those results only, with the source attached. No match? It says so.
Use YPulse AI either in the platform or in your favorite LLM for answers powered by YPulse data and insights.
No setup. Ask on platform and get sourced answers based entirely on 21+ billion exclusive YPulse datapoints.
Included with every plan.
A stat lands an hour before the meeting. Get what respondents actually said, with the question and sample.
Try asking
“Do most 13-39-year-olds in North America support social media bans for under-16s?”
Prime
Ask for a cut inside any study, like Millennial parents in the U.K. YPulse AI queries the row-level data, not the nearest printed table.
Try asking
“What share of Millennial parents in the U.K. have used buy now, pay later?”
Prime
Anyone can tell you what’s trending. Fifteen years of tracking shows if it’s climbing, cresting or over.
Try asking
“Has buy now, pay later use among 13-39-year-olds grown since 2022?”
Prime
Connect once, then ask inside Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Slack. Combine YPulse data with your own in one prompt.
Available as an add-on to every plan.
Your CRM shows when a cohort drifted. The Brand Tracker shows what moved at the same time. Ask both in one prompt and the churn report arrives with a reason.
Try asking
“Which competitors gained with young people in the months our customers churned?”
Pro
Social listening counts mentions, and the angriest people post the most. YPulse asks a weighted sample, so you see how many young people act on a controversy.
Try asking
“How many young people actually boycotted a brand over a cause last year?”
Prime
Your ad platforms report spend, reach and clicks. YPulse asks where young people saw the last ad that made them want to buy. When the two disagree, you’re optimizing the wrong number.
Try asking
“Where did young people see the last ad that made them want to buy, and how does our media mix compare?”
Prime
Add-on: Tweens Insights extends YPulse AI to 8-12-year-olds in North America. Available with Prime or Pro.
