Overview
- Pew’s national survey of 1,458 teens reports 64% have used chatbots, with roughly 28–30% using them daily and many of those engaging several times a day.
- ChatGPT leads teen chatbot adoption at 59%, well ahead of Google’s Gemini at 23% and Meta AI at 20%, with older teens using AI more frequently than younger ones.
- Teens remain heavy social media users—over 90% use YouTube and roughly six in ten use TikTok and Instagram—while Australia’s under‑16 social‑media account ban has now taken effect.
- Mental‑health experts caution that AI companions can foster dependency and displace real‑world social learning, aligning with Common Sense findings that 72% have tried companions and about one‑third use them for social or emotional interaction.
- Regulatory and legal pressure is rising in the U.S., with senators discussing restrictions on AI companions for minors, the president teasing a national AI framework, and multiple AI companies facing lawsuits tied to teen use.