Kiwi kids love sushi, TikTok dominates screen time and the latest buzzword is “sigma”, according to a nationwide survey that shows how much growing up in New Zealand today is changing.
Nearly 16,000 students from 310 schools have so far taken part in this year’s CensusAtSchool – TataurangaKiTeKura Aotearoa, an education project run by the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics with support from the Ministry of Education and Stats NZ.
The survey asks students what they’re “eating, watching, saying and dreaming of – and how these habits change as they grow”, shedding light on what’s making them tick the most.
CensusAtSchool co-director Rachel Cunliffe said the survey gave students a rare chance to see themselves in the data.
“It’s a snapshot of Kiwi life, straight from the source,” she said.
Anne Patel, co-director and a University of Auckland professional teaching fellow, said the initiative also taught students “real skills with real impact” by training them in data literacy to deliver insights into their own lives.
The shifting slang of Kiwi kids reflects the fast-changing nature of online culture.
When asked which word was trending, 14.4% of students chose “sigma”, a term taken from the “manosphere” that describes an independent, self-assured male.
It was followed by “skibidi”, a word recently added to the Cambridge Dictionary despite having no set definition, and then “slay” and “huzz”.
Words like “rizz” and “bro” have retained their cultural weight well into 2025.
Technology use climbs steadily with age. Year 3 students averaged one hour and 25 minutes a day, which doubled by Year 7.
By Year 13, girls reported four hours and six minutes of daily screen time, while boys averaged 30 minutes less.
Some 61.5% of students said they had used a device in bed the night before. Among Year 13 girls, that figure was nearly 90%.
Sleep satisfaction declined alongside increasing technology usage.
About 70% of primary school students reported getting enough sleep, compared with 42% of Year 13 students.
Half of all students said they could play at least one musical instrument, most often piano or guitar.
There were 17.5% who said they could play two, while 7.3% could play three or more.
Pets were the norm, with 72% of students living with at least one animal in their household.
Dogs (66%) and cats (62%) were most common, and it was typical to see multiple pets reported across households.
Fish, birds and rabbits rounded out the top five.
Japan was the most popular dream holiday destination for students (12.7%), followed by Greece, Hawaii and Fiji.
Becoming a lawyer was the career ambition that most frequently appeared (3.8%), ahead of doctor, vet and teacher.
Engineer, police officer and pilot also made the top 10.
Food preferences were varied, although the results encapsulated Kiwi students’ global tastes.
Sushi topped the list of favourite foods (15.2%), followed by pizza (9.7%) and chicken (8.6%). Pasta, burgers and noodles also ranked highly.
Among high school students, TikTok (60.5%) narrowly beat Snapchat (59.8%) and Instagram (55.9%) for the app with the most frequent daily use.
Over a week, YouTube was the most widely used platform (79.5%), followed by Snapchat (70.5%) and Instagram (68.6%).
Some 38.5% of high schoolers also reported using ChatGPT – this was the first year the CensusAtSchool survey included questions about AI use.
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