Why kids are posing with the peace sign in pictures

Children across age groups are increasingly striking a familiar pose for photographs: the two-finger "peace" or "V" sign. The gesture has become a routine part of school pictures, birthday shots and casual snaps, a pattern parents and kids describe as widespread and almost automatic.

Parents who have watched their children take photos say the pose appears in nearly every group photograph. "Everyone does it," said Rhodes, 5. In one household anecdote, a parent scolded an older sibling for making bunny ears behind a younger child's head; the older child looked puzzled and replied, "It's just a peace sign." An informal poll of children and parents conducted for this report found similar reports in multiple communities, and a 17-year-old correspondent, Allison, said she began using the pose in middle to late elementary school. A mother in the U.K., Kate Ellen, said her daughters, ages 9 and 5, and their friends all pose with the gesture.

Observers and parents cite a mix of peer influence, online culture and visual media as reasons the pose has spread. Children often copy behaviors they see from classmates, older siblings and celebrities, and content on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube exposes young viewers to repetitive visual habits. Anime, K-pop and other East Asian pop-culture exports frequently feature performers and characters making the V sign, which some experts say has helped normalize the gesture worldwide.

The gesture itself has a longer history. The V sign has been used in different contexts for decades — from a symbol of victory and peace to a playful photo pose in some East Asian cultures — but its sudden ubiquity among Generation Alpha reflects the speed of cultural transmission in the digital age. For many children, the sign functions as a compact, expressive pose that fits neatly into the framing of smartphone selfies and group photos.

Parents described the pose as versatile and low-effort, a way for children to participate in the performative aspect of taking pictures without requiring extensive planning. In classrooms and playgrounds, teachers and parents reported seeing entire rows of school pictures punctuated by kids holding up two fingers. The gesture's repetitiveness across schools and social groups suggests that it spreads largely through imitation rather than formal instruction.

Cultural observers note that visual shorthand and body-language cues travel quickly among young people. When a gesture becomes associated with positive social signals — playfulness, cuteness or belonging — children are more likely to adopt it. The peace sign meets those criteria: it is familiar, nonverbal, and visually distinct in a small photograph.

The trend also highlights generational differences in how children learn to present themselves. Older forms of photo play, such as the prank of giving someone "bunny ears" in the background, seem to be less common among younger children, who more often use the peace sign directly in front of the camera. That shift points to changing norms about what is considered amusing or acceptable in shared images.

Photographers and parents say the gesture can sometimes affect how a photo is read: a picture that might otherwise be neutral takes on a more playful tone when children flash the V sign. For photographers tasked with making class photos or keeping family albums, the recurring pose is a small practical challenge: some aim to capture both posed and candid moments to balance the repetition.

The phenomenon is an example of how a simple visual habit can gain traction across broad swaths of the population. As children increasingly spend more time in digital spaces and consume global media, the gestures and expressions they encounter become part of their everyday repertoire. Whether the peace-sign pose will remain dominant as a generational marker or be replaced by new trends will depend on the next wave of cultural signals children encounter through peers and media.

For now, the peace sign remains a shared shorthand in children's photographs — a brief, recognizable gesture that signals playfulness and belonging in a single frame.