If you have a child under 14, the word “skibidi” may sound familiar to you. However, for many parents, this word and the YouTube series it comes from can be a bit confusing.
Our quick guide to the phenomenon answers all your basic questions about the Skibidi toilet and its appeal to young people.
What is the Skibidi toilet and who developed it?
Skibidi Toilet is an animated video series by Georgian animator Alexey Gerasimov. Episodes are posted as YouTube shorts and later compiled into longer videos on Gerasimov’s channel “DaFuq!?Boom!” The series is animated using computer graphics and falls into a film subgenre called machinima, a portmanteau of “machine” and “cinema.”
The plot generally depicts a dystopian world in which Skibidi toilets – portable toilets with human heads popping out of their bowls – wage war with humanoids who have speakers, cameras and televisions for heads. The facial features of the most “human” characters are distorted and often contorted in disturbing or violent ways, which may make it difficult to watch for some viewers. In total, the series contains more than 72 episodes, some of which have been uploaded in multiple parts.
The first Skibidi toilet video was published on February 7, 2023 and has more than 164 million views, but other videos in the series have more than 250 million views. The “DaFuq!?Boom!” The channel now has 41 million YouTube subscribers and over 16 billion views.
What does “Skibidi” mean?
“Skibidi” is an onomatopoeia derived from the lyrics of “Give It to Me” by Timbaland. If you speed it up, the chorus lyric “So Give It To Me, Give It To Me” sounds like “Skibidi.” A mashup of “Give It to Me” and the song “Dom Dom Yes Yes” by Biser King is the Skibidi Toilets anthem and is used throughout the series.
While “Skibidi” originally had no inherent meaning, it has now become a slang term for children and teenagers, meaning either “bad” or “cool” depending on the context.
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Why is the Skibidi toilet so popular with Gen Alpha?
Gen Alpha (children born after 2012) are Skibidi Toilet’s biggest fans, with some crossovers into the youngest cohort of Generation Z. The series’ biggest appeal for young minds seems to be its mix of humor and absurdity.
The same kind of crazy content was also popular with Generation Z and Millennials: think of the crazy kids’ shows on Cartoon Network in the ’90s and early 2000s and the silliness of those early viral videos. However, it is important to note that Skibidi Toilet is more violent than this content ever was.
The series also references media franchises already familiar to Generation Alpha, such as: Fourteen days Emotes and the video game Half-life: 2.
Are they making a Skibidi toilet film?
Not yet. In July 2023 a fake medium post The claim that Dreamworks was planning to make a Skibidi toilet-themed film made the rounds on social media, leading many to believe that they would soon see the series on the big screen.
Is the Skibidi toilet suitable for children?
The disturbing animation style, dystopian setting, and depictions of war and violence in “Skibidi Toilet” may be disturbing to some children (and adults). However, some children also seem to find the general absurdity of the premise silly and not scary.
Monitoring organizations such as Common Sense Media have not yet released a decision on its suitability for children.
What is “Skibidi toilet syndrome”?
The term “Skibidi toilet syndrome” refers to the belief expressed on social media that the series is harmful to children and has a negative impact on their behavior and development. The guard called it a “moral panic,” but parents on Reddit have reported that the series did made their children afraid of going to the toilet. These posts indicate that young children may be particularly at risk and confused by the content.
If you are concerned about your child watching the series online, consider using the YouTube Kids app, which does not include access to the Skibidi toilet.