The year 2024 became another stage in the digital evolution of Ukrainian society, where Google searches turned into an important indicator of public attitudes, fears and interests. Digital inquiries, like drops of water, collected emotions, experiences and new public interests. From pressing life issues to global cultural phenomena, each query tells a story of time. One such vivid reflection has been the wild popularity of the Korean Netflix series The Squid Game, which has gone beyond just a television product to become a global phenomenon. However, unlike many other series, this phenomenon is not only entertaining, but also dangerous, especially among children and young people. Let’s try to figure out why a fictional story about people who are ready to risk their lives for money became so popular that it made society think about real values.
What Ukrainians were interested in in 2024
In 2024, Ukrainians actively used Google to search for information that reflects their urgent needs and interests. To ball The most popular requests included:
- blackout schedule;
- Euro-2024;
- Oleksandr Syrskyi;
Ukrainians were already sick of the topic of light, so they constantly kept their finger on the pulse, reviewing the blackout schedules. Sports events also attracted considerable attention, and it is not surprising that the grotesque images that drew attention away from the athletes are still remembered. For a long time on the Internet, the untidy entourage was discussed in comparison with sports achievements.
Personalities related to politics and sports were also in the spotlight all year. They became even more popular than television and pop stars. Inquiries about Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and boxer Oleksandr Usyk show that Ukrainians are interested in national leaders and athletes.
Terrible events were also not ignored. The inquiry about the tragic death of Iryna Farion reflects public interest in the circumstances of the death of the famous linguist and politician.
In the sphere of purchases, Ukrainians were looking for energy solutions such as “Ecoflow”, “charging station” and “inverter”, which indicates the desire to ensure energy independence.
Cinema also remained an important part of cultural life. The documentary film “20 days in Mariupol” aroused considerable interest, reflecting the desire of Ukrainians to understand the events related to the war.
In general, the search queries of Ukrainians in 2024 reflect a complex reality in which the challenges of war, energy difficulties and the desire for a normal life through sports, culture and technology are combined. It is worth noting the fact that the dynamics of the popularity of the Ukrainian language online is being observed.
For data of research presented at the 15th Ukrainian Forum on Internet Management, we have the following results:
- posts in Ukrainian on Instagram make up 87%;
- posts in Ukrainian on Facebook make up 79%;
- 55% of TikTok posts are in Ukrainian.
Even in the online video game service Steam, the share of users with a Ukrainian interface increased from 0.17% (2020) to 0.75% (2024). Today, there is a positive trend in the use of the Ukrainian language in almost all online niches:
- electronics – 21.3%;
- news – 52%;
- children’s goods – 50%;
- sport – 43%;
- cosmetics – 34%;
- medicine – 29%;
- pet supplies – 41%;
- alcohol – 21%.
At the same time, among the latest trends, the loudest phenomenon that attracted the attention of not only Ukrainians, but the whole world as a whole, was the popularity of the Korean series from Netflix “The Squid Game”.
Photo: trends.google.com
The premiere of the show immediately won the hearts of fans all over the world, topping the popularity charts in 93 countries at the same time – this is the first time in the history of the service. The series became so interesting for everyone that Google, responding to the demand of the trend, immediately came up with entertainment for users – the interactive game “Red light, green light”, based on the first test of the participants of the show from the first season. Now fans of the series can experience the oppressive atmosphere of this deadly entertainment right in their browser.
What is the danger of “Squid Games”
The essence of “Squid Games” is a series of children’s games, which are forced to play by participants who find themselves in financial trouble. Losing in these games does not carry symbolic fines, but death. The winner receives a huge cash prize. That is, the participants of the game are put in harsh conditions, forced to fight for survival, often with fatal consequences for the losers. The popularity of the plot encourages viewers, especially children and teenagers, to recreate these games in real life. In such cases, “losing” can mean physical injury or humiliation, creating the threat of psychological pressure, bullying or even serious damage to health. Real “games” lose the line between fun and violence, provoking dangerous behavior and indifference to other people’s suffering.
The danger of The Squid Game is the romanticization of cruelty and the crossing of the lines between fiction and reality. The series, playing on survival instincts, inspires young people to play risky games and dangerous experiments, ignoring the consequences. The popularization of violence as entertainment can affect vulnerable categories of viewers, leading to real conflicts, psychological trauma or even traumatic actions in life.
The secret of the success of the series “The Squid Game”
The explosive popularity of the series “The Squid Game” became not just a cultural phenomenon, but a kind of mirror for a society that was on the verge of survival. In an environment of war, economic instability, and general tension, aggression and competition that once seemed extreme are now perceived as the new norm. The series, where the heroes fight for life under cruel rules, definitely hit the nerve of the era. This phenomenon has broken all the ratings, generated millions of discussions and even turned into a template for memes and challenges in social networks.
The secret of his success lies in a bright picture, intrigue and a ruthless moral dilemma. But a dangerous trend is hiding behind the exciting story. Heroes, whose choices are often dictated by greed for money and boundless mercantilism, devalue human life, turning it into a bargaining chip. And the problem is that these anti-heroes, despite all their selfishness and cynicism, have become role models. But it can hardly be considered normal that mass culture popularizes images that justify betrayal, cruelty and lack of compassion for the sake of one’s own survival.
Yes, indeed, “The Squid Game” can act as a warning, but it is far from a moral lesson. It is a mirror of our world, where the struggle for resources often overshadows humanity. And if we do not want reality to turn into the script of this series, we should treat such stories critically, remembering that real heroes are not those who sell morality for profit, but those who, even in the most difficult conditions, do not lose their humanity . And if adults can understand what they saw as a hyperbolized metaphor, then children remain defenseless before vivid images of violence. The series, with its inherent drama, masks the horrors behind colorful scenery, and the younger generation perceives these games not as a warning, but as something fashionable, worth emulating. Teenage challenges, where scenes from the series are played out, only add fuel to the fire: cruelty becomes entertainment.
Unfortunately, this series has become an embodiment of a reality that already exists. We live in a world where competition replaces cooperation and the struggle for survival is not just a metaphor. And if adults are already used to “playing by the rules”, then children find themselves in a vacuum where their moral guidelines are only being formed. If we show indifference in this matter, then we risk eventually getting a generation for which cruelty will become the norm and commonplace.
It is worth noting that “Squid Game” is not the only series released recently that can have such a negative effect on the psyche. There were quite a lot of such series before him and there will be more. A whole subgenre has even formed in cinema: “Battle Royale”, “Hunger Games”, “The Terrible Will of the Gods”, “The One Who Runs in the Labyrinth”, “Rat Race”, “3%”, “Circle”, “Arena” . As is well known, demand creates supply. And it is quite difficult to hide from such popular content that is advancing from all sides. But all these tapes showed us a virtual world, and the strength of “The Squid Game” lies in the fact that the depicted events take place in the real and familiar world. In addition, the appeal of such tapes is related to the painfully familiar problems of competition, social inequality, the need to resist acute stress and survive, which each of us goes through today. For some, the events of such a movie remind the reality of computer shooter games, which also evokes familiar feelings among players. And deadly games in the online space like “Blue Whale” or rumors of underground battles and sweepstakes with slaves come to mind.
But it is not too late to start responding to the situation accordingly. Parents, teachers, society should talk with children about what is good and bad, develop critical thinking. Watching content with children and explaining hidden meanings should become a habit in every family. And finally, to support a culture of empathy and mutual aid that can resist cruelty – on screen and in real life. It is worth remembering a simple truth – trends come and go, but moral values are formed forever. The question is what will be their foundation in our children.
It should be noted that such series are dangerous not only for children, but also for people with a weak or vulnerable psyche. Psychologists sound the alarm, because such plots, which develop around the game, where violence takes place, and mutilation and death are shown in great detail, immerse the viewer in an atmosphere of constant stress. Stress is formed due to the fact that the human brain experiences what is happening on the screen as part of its reality, reacts to it, and signals danger. By the end of the viewing, we can get either a thirst for violence or a heightened anxiety of danger. Both take us out of reality and into an illusory world created by the series, in which we can get stuck for a while. And even during a short period of such stuckness, a person is able to change some patterns of his behavior, adopting them from the series. And then everything will depend on the person himself, in particular on the stability of his psyche. That is why it is important to show measures of personal hygiene in the information space and limit yourself in indecipherable consumption, increasing the amount of constructive content in your life.
We live in a time when cruelty on screens has ceased to shock, but has become a commonplace that reflects our reality. The “Squid Game” only highlighted the problems that already exist in society: the struggle for survival, inequality, fear and aggression. In a world where war forces adults to adapt to brutal conditions, there are those who are vulnerable to such content. They become victims of series that are not just entertaining, but form a false idea about the normality of violence. If nothing changes, we risk raising a generation that will see cruelty as an inevitable part of life. The fascination with such series is a signal to society: it is necessary to immediately review what values we transmit to children and what lessons they learn from it.
The solution is obvious, although not simple. Adults should take responsibility for how this content is perceived. It is necessary not to ban, because everyone knows that the forbidden fruit is always attractive, but to openly talk with children about the topics raised by the series, to explain that it is only a work of art, and not an instruction for life. At the same time, it is important to create an alternative – to support content that promotes empathy, compassion and mutual assistance.
