A children’s smartwatch, originally crafted for safety, is quietly warping the social dynamics among kids.

Lately, the buzz around “children’s smartwatches becoming a form of ‘social currency’ for primary and middle schoolers” has captured widespread public interest. Multiple reports reveal that the “tap-to-add-friends” social feature and “home page likes” function on Xiao Tian Cai children’s smartwatches are wildly popular among pupils. Some kids find a sense of accomplishment and social validation in racking up likes, while others invest hours daily in the watch’s social sphere to inflate their like counts.

This burgeoning social craze has swiftly spawned a slew of associated gray-market services. As the watch’s social scene heats up, a clandestine economy centered around Xiao Tian Cai watches has gradually emerged: services to artificially inflate likes, “high-level” accounts fetching up to 1,000 yuan, “parental monitoring bypass” for 100 yuan, and “game installations” for 45 yuan.

These services skirt the edges of legality, not only betraying the product’s original safety-focused design but also steering children’s social interactions into uncharted and potentially harmful territories.

Three Major Hidden Dangers, Infinite Harm

Parents might believe that by confiscating smartphones and tablets and leaving only a smartwatch, they’ve crafted a “digital safe zone” for their kids. Little do they realize, a full-fledged gray ecosystem has quietly taken root on Xiao Tian Cai smartwatches. From account farming and like-inflation services to account trading and system exploits, most players and victims in this chain are unsuspecting minors.

The hidden perils behind Xiao Tian Cai’s “social mechanisms” far outweigh the device itself, with consequences that stretch endlessly.

First, in the “universe” built by Xiao Tian Cai, metrics like likes and points have morphed from simple interaction tools into core benchmarks for kids to gauge popularity and even define social standing. This data-driven vanity has birthed industries around “account farming” and “paid likes.”

It’s reported that an account boasting over 600,000 likes is revered as a “big shot,” not only signaling a social status upgrade but also attracting a legion of fans. To attain “big shot” status, primary schoolers hire others to boost likes for 30-50 yuan weekly on platforms like Xianyu, with most service providers being “peers lacking strict parental oversight.”

Second, when an account amasses enough “likes,” it transcends being a mere social tool and morphs into a “digital commodity” with a price tag, leading kids to naturally chase “profits.”

On platforms like Xianyu, listings for “Xiao Tian Cai accounts for sale” abound: an account with 610,000 home page likes fetches 416 yuan; one with 1.25 million likes and specific perks commands a “premium” price of 1,200 yuan. This industry chain exposes minors to commercial behavior prematurely, potentially fostering a mindset of seeking easy gains and shortcuts.

Third, the “safe haven” carefully constructed by parents has been breached. “Hacking and installation” services for Xiao Tian Cai smartwatches have formed an industry chain, supporting remote operations or mail-in processing.

It’s understood that to help kids evade “monitoring,” some merchants offer “hacking services.” More alarmingly, to circumvent the watch’s native system restrictions on installing third-party software, merchants have carved out new profit avenues by illegally installing entertainment apps like games and Douyin (Chinese TikTok) through technical loopholes.

From data-fueled social vanity to priced account trading, and then to tech exploits breaching safety boundaries, these three hidden dangers are intertwined, not only eroding kids’ healthy growth environment but also posing severe challenges to family education and social oversight.

Sales Leader Strays from Its “Original Mission”

Currently, a thought-provoking trend is unfolding in the children’s smartwatch market.

On one hand, multiple media outlets continue to expose issues like social comparison, gray industries, and content risks tied to Xiao Tian Cai smartwatches; on the other hand, sales in the children’s smartwatch market keep climbing, with Xiao Tian Cai consistently dominating the market share.

According to online monitoring data from LuoTu Technology (RUNTO), in the third quarter of 2025, sales of children’s smartwatches in the online market reached 2.612 million units, down 11.3% year-on-year; however, sales revenue hit 1.38 billion yuan, up 14.1% year-on-year, with an average price of 529 yuan.

Specifically, Xiao Tian Cai reclaimed the top spot with a 27.6% share, though sales dropped 14.2% year-on-year, and its share slightly dipped by 0.9%. Meanwhile, its sub-brand “Xiao Tian Cai KuGai” impressed, with sales soaring 146.4% year-on-year and its share rising 5.5% to 8.7%, ranking fourth.

Behind Xiao Tian Cai’s stellar sales lies a severe deviation from its original safety-focused mission and a quiet erosion of corporate social responsibility.

From a product design standpoint, Xiao Tian Cai’s social mechanisms have failed to bolster its “safety protection” intent. Instead, by centering systems around likes and rankings, it has actively stoked and intensified kids’ competitive instincts.

As a children’s smartwatch, Xiao Tian Cai offers basic functions like calling and location tracking while blocking social apps like WeChat and QQ. Some models even include learning assistance modules. Yet, the core draw for kids is its unique “tap-to-add-friends” social feature, which inherently amplifies peer comparison.

When introducing social mechanisms, Xiao Tian Cai didn’t fully gauge their potential impact on minors or implement robust anti-addiction measures, revealing a fundamental flaw in its product design.

From a content moderation perspective, Xiao Tian Cai’s repeated content scandals aren’t accidental but direct proof of flaws in its review system.

Over the past few years, content ecosystem issues with Xiao Tian Cai watches have surfaced frequently. In 2022, an article on People’s Daily Online questioned whether “gamified” content belongs on smartwatches. In 2024, a netizen exposed that the watch’s built-in AI, when asked, “Are Chinese people honest?” responded, “Chinese people are the most dishonest and hypocritical in the world,” a reply severely violating social consensus.

If a company fails to effectively manage ecological disorders, it effectively “tolerates” them. These incidents reflect Xiao Tian Cai’s shortcomings in content moderation and value guidance as a minor-oriented brand. Moreover, when merchants openly offer “parental monitoring bypass” services, the platform’s technical defenses and regulatory duties come under scrutiny.

In short, Xiao Tian Cai’s commercial triumph confirms its marketing strategy but cannot conceal its social responsibility deficit.

All Stakeholders Must Uphold Industry Standards

In recent years, the children’s smartwatch market has grown steadily, with competition intensifying. Brands like Xiao Tian Cai, Huawei, and Xiaomi engage in fierce “innovation races” over price, features, higher pixels, faster charging, and richer social mechanisms. However, some innovations have inadvertently opened Pandora’s boxes.

The Xiao Tian Cai gray industry incident reveals that while its like and point-based social system boosts user engagement, it also fosters comparison and gray transactions. This serves as a warning to all industry players that any feature addition in minor-oriented products must pass strict “safety filters.”

Of course, relying solely on individual smartwatch brands is insufficient; this demands collaborative governance among platforms, families, and society.

First, brands like Xiao Tian Cai, Huawei, and Xiaomi must take primary responsibility, proactively patching technical vulnerabilities, cracking down on account trading, paid-like services, and hacking, and establishing more transparent, parent-friendly supervision mechanisms.

It’s understood that the Law on the Protection of Minors explicitly states, “Network product and service providers shall not offer minors products or services that induce addiction.” The Regulations on Network Protection of Minors also prohibit “online communities themed around fundraising for support, voting rankings, or view manipulation.”

Second, parents must evolve from “technical blockers” to “digital literacy mentors.” While using technical tools for management, they should also guide kids through emotional communication and personal example to understand the nature of virtual socializing, build correct values, and enhance resilience against harmful information.

Third, society must form a regulatory coalition. Regulatory authorities need to issue more detailed, binding industry standards; media and the public should play a supervisory role in exposing issues; and distribution platforms like app stores must fulfill their review responsibilities.

In conclusion, the future of the children’s smartwatch industry hinges not on how many entertainment features it adds but on whether it can return to and uphold its foundational purpose of “safety protection.” For brands like Xiao Tian Cai, Huawei, and Xiaomi, adhering to safety boundaries isn’t a restriction but a mission they must shoulder.