With its plethora of short-form content, gaming-focused videos and music offerings, YouTube ranked as the top site for US tweens and teens in the latest report from US market research firm KidSay.

In its 2015 Spring Trend Tracker,  KidSay surveyed approximately 1,000 kids and teens ages eight to 15 in the US.

It found kids are increasingly flocking to the video-sharing platform. The report looked at kids likes and dislikes, including favorite TV shows and apps, how they use tablets and their choice of screen. It also looked at YouTube usage versus account ownership, the number of channels kids subscribed to and favorite YouTube channels. Responses were broken down by demo – tweens (eight to 11) and teens (12 to 15).

Not surprisingly, KidSay saw mass YouTube consumption out of the gate, with 89% of all respondents saying they use YouTube, even though only 66% (71% boys, 66% girls) have an account.

More notable is the breadth of channels to which kids subscribe. According to KidSay, 44% of respondents subscribed to between one and 10 channels, while 35% subscribed to more than 21 channels, and 22% subscribed to between 11 and 20 channels.

For Trend Tracker’s SVP of research and editor-in-chief Terence Burke, what stands out is the way in which kids use the video-sharing platform.

“What we’ve seen with mass acceleration is that YouTube is now a legitimate content provider. For the younger kids, there is less distinction made between [YouTube] and what we might consider traditional content providers, networks like Nickelodeon, Disney, etc.” notes Burke.

YouTube ranked as the number-one website across all segments, with 29% of kids ages eight to 15 reporting that watching videos is what they do most often online.

Respondents’ top-three favorite channels were led by VanossGaming, followed by PewDiePie and Bethany Mota. Looking at channel preferences, boys gravitated more to gaming-related offerings, including gaming commentary and watching games being played, as well as Stampylonghead and Minecraft-based channels. Girls’ preferences were more diverse, with DIY, life-style focused channels and gaming topping their lists.

Additionally, the report found that YouTube is not just for watching videos, but an increasing player in the music world. KidSay asked respondents to share their favorite app or website to listen to music. YouTube was the #2 response for girls (with music site Pandora being first) and the #1 response for boys.

Notably in the app space, the growing popularity of Instagram bumped the photo-sharing app to the number-one spot, with the YouTube app taking second place. As for Facebook, Burke notes that while tweens and teens are still on the social site, it represents a place where they must check in with friends and is not necessarily the place to be. That distinction falls to Instagram, which is popular across all segments.

For more information about the report, visit www.kidsay.com.